New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- India's fiscal deficit for April-September has widened to Rs.5.73 trillion, 36.5% of the budget estimate for the current fiscal year - an increase of more than seven percentage points from the first half of 2024-25.

The latest figure, released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), exceeds the Rs.4.75 trillion recorded a year earlier, which was 29.4% of the 2024-25 annual estimates, reflecting the backloading of much of the central government's capital expenditure last fiscal, when election-related spending restrictions slowed disbursements in the first half.

The central government's fiscal deficit target is 4.4% of GDP for 2025-26, as announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2025-...