new delhi, July 1 -- India's fiscal deficit reached 9.6% of the full-year target at the end of May. The fiscal deficit, reflecting the gap between expenditure and revenue financed by borrowing, had touched 21.4% of the Rs.16.96 lakh crore budget estimate (BE) for FY27 in April. The Centre's fiscal deficit narrowed to 9.6% of BE of 2026-27 or Rs.1.62 lakh crore, according to the latest accounts released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Tuesday. The government has budgeted a fiscal deficit of 4.3% of gross domestic product, or about Rs.16.96 lakh crore, for FY27 and is expected to rely on stronger tax collections and non-tax receipts in the coming months to keep the deficit within the target. May's fiscal position also reflects a combination of weaker receipts and front-loaded expenditure at the start of the financial year. Experts caution against reading too much into the first couple of months' data as direct tax collections, dividends from the RBI and public sector enterprises, and GST settlements are unevenly distributed through the year. According to the CGA, the amount the government received under the head'dividends and profits' was Rs.2.89 lakh crore or 74% of the BE. The data on monthly accounts showed that the government received Rs.7.19 lakh crore, 19.7% of corresponding BE 2026-27 of total receipts, up to May 2026. This comprised Rs.3.48 lakh crore tax revenue (net to centre), Rs.3.51 lakh crore of non-tax revenue and Rs.19,664 crore of non-debt capital receipts. The decline in receiptsfollows the Centre's March decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.10 per litre each to shield consumers from elevated global crudeprices due to the war in West Asia, resulting in a revenue loss of nearly Rs.14,000 crore per month. Also, global uncertainty due to war in West Asia impacted trade and resulted in slowing IGST collections....