In the last fiscal, the government was staring at a tax revenue shortfall of Rs 1.15 lakh crore. However, CNBC-TV18 learns that a higher nominal GDP and some other factors have helped the government meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 percent.

CNBC-TV18's Sapna Das explains how the government achieved the deficit target.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in March came in at a record Rs 1.06 lakh crore, but not enough to meet the union government's target for the fiscal year ended 31 March, official data showed.

The centre, which had upwardly revised fiscal deficit target to accommodate the cash-dole-out plan to farmers, was banking on its share of estimated GST collections of Rs 5.03 lakh crore out of about Rs 11.47 lakh crore in total mop-up for 2018-19.

But, the final numbers showed gross central GST coming in at Rs 4.25 lakh crore, about Rs 78,000 crore short of what the Centre was targeting.

GST, which was rolled out from 1 July 2017, subsumed 17 central and state levies and collections thereof are divided into three broad heads—central GST (which accrues to the Union Government), state GST (which goes to states) and integrated GST (that is divided equally between the centre and the state).

Official sources said estimated Rs 5.03 lakh crore share of the Centre in the GST proceeds was after distributing states' share out of I-GST. The actual collection of Rs 4.25 lakh crore is after settling IGST.