New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday exuded confidence that the government will meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of the GDP for the year ending March 2026.
The Union Budget presented in Parliament in February by the Finance Minister had pegged the fiscal deficit at Rs 15.69 lakh crore, or 4.4 per cent, of the GDP in 2025-26 against 4.8 per cent in 2024-25.
Sitharaman was interacting with students during a Q&A session after delivering the Diamond Jubilee Valedictory Lecture at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) here.
“God willing and with every strength and support the Prime Minister gives me, we will be able to meet that fiscal deficit number…That’s a commitment made in Parliament, and it’s my duty to abide by it,” Sitharaman said.
The Centre’s fiscal deficit stood at 36.5 per cent of the full-year target at the end of the first half of FY26, according to the latest data of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
The Finance Minister is scheduled to present the next Union Budget in February 2026.
Sitharaman further said that from now onwards, the government’s focus will be on the debt-to-GDP ratio.
“… It is important for us and for achieving Viksit Bharat, we need to consciously be on the path of reforming and bringing in prudential fiscal management. That’s the responsibility of every finance minister,” she added.
The central government’s debt is estimated at 56.1 per cent of the GDP in BE 2025-26, lower than 57.1 per cent of GDP in RE 2024-25.
According to the revised Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the government is mandated to reduce the fiscal deficit to less than 4.5 per cent by fiscal 2025-26.
In her speech, the minister said the citizens should believe in themselves and the country’s economy.
“We should not be swayed by those who say our economy is not up to the mark. Who can ever tell a nation of 140 crore people that we are a dead economy? It’s alright for people from outside to taunt us, but we within the country should never decry the efforts and achievements of our own people,” she said.
PTI
