New Delhi, Nov. 1 -- India's fiscal deficit for April-September has widened to Rs.5.73 lakh crore, 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 lakh crore 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 2025-26, lower than 4.8% in 2024-25, which in turn was below the revised estimates of 4.9%. During April-September, net tax revenue stood at Rs.12.30 lakh crore, or 43.3% of the annual target set in the budget in February, compared with Rs.12.65 lakh crore in the same period last year, CGA data showed. Total government expenditure during the period was Rs.23.03 lakh crore, or 43.5% of the annual target, against Rs.21.11 lakh crore in the year ago period. The government's total expenditure stood at Rs.5.8 lakh crore during the period, or 51.8% of the annual estimate for 2025-26, from Rs.4.15 lakh crore reported during the year-ago period, or 37.3% of the annual estimates for 2024-25. Non-tax revenue stood at Rs.4.66 lakh crore, or 79.9% of the budget estimates, and total revenue receipts stood at Rs.16.95 lakh crore, or 49.6%, of the estimates for the fiscal. While non-tax revenue stood at Rs.3.57 lakh crore or 65.5% of the annual budget estimates during the April-September period last year, total revenue receipts stood at Rs.16.22 lakh crore, or 51.8% of the estimates for 2024-25. The Indian government's tighter fiscal deficit target outlined in February's annual budget is bolstered by an unprecedented dividend payout from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Rs.2.56 lakh crore disbursement, up from Rs.2.11 lakh crore last year, provides a crucial buffer for 2025-26, offsetting potential shortfalls in tax revenue or hikes in public spending. This substantial payout aids the government's adherence to its fiscal consolidation path, with the goal of lowering the deficit to 4.4% from 4.8% by 2025-26....