Net tax revenues for the April-December period were 17.30 trillion rupees, or about 74.2% of the annual estimate, compared with 15.56 trillion rupees in the same period last year, according to the data. The financial year began April 1, 2023.

Total expenditure during the period was 30.54 trillion rupees, or about 68% of the annual goal, compared with 28.18 trillion rupees in the same period last year.

In the first nine months of the financial year, government capital expenditure or spending on building physical infrastructure was 6.74 trillion rupees, or 67.3% of the annual target, higher than 4.90 trillion rupees in the same period a year earlier.

India aims to narrow its fiscal deficit to 5.9% of gross domestic product by the end of this fiscal year, from 6.4% last year.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Miral Fahmy)