New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- India's fiscal deficit widened in the first six months of FY27, as capital spending and subsidy outlays continued to rise. Fiscal deficit, or the gap between government expenditure and receipts, stood at Rs.7.14 lakh crore at the end of September, latest data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showed. This amounts to 42.1% of the full-year budget estimate, higher than 36.5% in the corresponding period of the previous year. At the end of August, the fiscal deficit had stood at 41.9% of the annual target. The higher proportion of the budgeted fiscal deficit already incurred in the first half of FY27 indicates mounting pressure on the government's fiscal balance, with expenditure growing faster than the pace of deficit accumulation seen in the year-ago period. The Centre has budgeted a fiscal deficit of Rs.16.96 lakh crore, or 4.3% of GDP, for FY27. It is relying on robust tax collections and higher non-tax revenues in the coming months to meet this target. The fiscal deficit is typically financed through borrowings. The widening gap assumes significance as the government has cut its FY27 market borrowing by nearly Rs.1.2 lakh crore and now plans to raise Rs.7.86 lakh crore through dated government securities in the second half of the fiscal year, as Mint reported on 25 September. The Centre now expects to borrow Rs.15.995 lakh crore through dated securities during FY27, compared with Rs.17.2 lakh crore estimated in the Union budget, according to the finance ministry's borrowing plan released in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25 September. The latest data showed that total government expenditure reached Rs.25.50 lakh crore by September, equivalent to 47.7% of the full-year budget estimate, while total receipts stood at Rs.18.35 lakh crore, or 50.3% of the annual estimate. The receipts included Rs.12.76 lakh crore in tax revenue (net to the Centre), Rs.4.81 lakh crore in non-tax revenue and Rs.78,602 crore under non-debt capital receipts. Revenue receipts stood at Rs.17.57 lakh crore, or 49.7% of the budget estimate, by September. Net tax revenue reached 44.5% of the annual budget estimate of Rs.28.67 lakh crore, while non-tax revenue reached 72.2% of the Rs.6.66 lakh crore budgeted for the year. The Centre also received Rs.78,602 crore through non-debt capital receipts, comprising Rs.16,443 crore in loan recoveries and Rs.62,159 crore under other receipts. Non-debt capital receipts were 66.4% of the Rs.1.18 lakh crore budget estimate....