The Centre has been able to rein in its fiscal deficit at just below the Budget target of 5.9 per cent of the gross domestic product for 2002-03.

Data released by the Controller General of Accounts, however, shows that expenditure management has slipped up as non-Plan expenditure has overshot the revised estimates by around Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion).

The total fiscal deficit is Rs 1,44,647 crore (Rs 1,446.47 billion), compared with the revised estimate of Rs 1,45,466 crore (Rs 1,454.66 billion) made in the Budget for 2003-04.

The fiscal deficit now stands at 5.86 per cent of the gross domestic product.

The Centre has been able to match the rise in non-Plan expenditure by a substantial jump in recovery of loans from state governments through the debt swap programme.

It has gone up to Rs 34,282 crore (Rs 342.82 billion), against the revised estimate of Rs 18,251 crore (Rs 182.51 billion), a jump of 187.8 per cent or Rs 16,031 crore (Rs 160.31 billion).

As a result, total receipts have grossed Rs 2,68,317 crore (Rs 2,683.17 billion), against the revised estimate of Rs 2,58,547 crore (Rs 2,585.47 billion).

Tax revenue has fallen short of the revised estimates by Rs 5,866 crore (Rs 58.66 billion) because of the shortfall in indirect tax collection.

But achieving 96.4 per cent of the revised estimates made just two months ago is better than the achievement of 93.9 per cent in the Budget for 2002-03.

Total expenditure has overshot the revised estimates by Rs 8,951 crore (Rs 89.51 billion) because the non-Plan expenditure, fuelled by a rise in capital accounts has touched 169 per cent of the revised estimates.

But there has been a saving of Rs 2,012 crore (Rs 20.12 billion) in Plan expenditure because states and ministries have not been able to utilise their funds fully for capital expenditure.

As a result, the revenue deficit has slightly overshot the target to touch 4.4 per cent, instead of 4.3, as estimated in the Budget.

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said he was more concerned with controlling the revenue rather than fiscal deficit.

The primary deficit, which measures the deficit minus the interest expenditure has stayed at within the revised estimates of 1.2 per cent.

The total divestment kitty has also fallen short of the revised estimate target at Rs 3,150 crore (Rs 31.50 billion), instead of Rs 3,360 crore (Rs 33.60 billion).

The accounts for the first month of the new fiscal shows that there has been almost nil growth of revenue at Rs 576 crore (Rs 5.76 billion) because of the fall in tax collection as a result of refunds.

Thus the gap between total expenditure and revenue is now Rs 17,140 crore (Rs 171.40 billion), with total expenditure at Rs 19,914 crore (Rs 199.14 billion).

The government has already completed 11 per cent of its total borrowing for the year at Rs 17,094 crore (Rs 170.94 billion).

The ways and means advances from the Reserve Bank of India to the Centre, therefore, stood at Rs 9,607 crore (Rs 96.07 billion) in this month.