The central government maintained its progress towards fiscal consolidation in the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year 2026-27. According to official data released on Wednesday, the total receipts of the Centre till June 2026 stood at Rs 10,49,243 crore, which is 28.7 per cent of the Budget Estimate (BE) for the entire fiscal year, which is 11.5 per cent higher than the same period last year.
At the same time, the total expenditure of the Central Government till June 2026 was Rs 13,57,076 crore, which is 25.4 percent of the budgetary estimate for the financial year 2026-27.
The government received net tax revenue of ₹636,576 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, along with ₹377,664 crore in non-tax revenue and ₹35,003 crore in non-debt capital receipts.
During the same period, the central government transferred ₹263,336 crore to the states as their share of taxes. However, this amount was ₹63,605 crore less than the same period last year.
The government has significantly increased spending on infrastructure projects. Capital expenditure (capex) on major projects such as highways, railways and ports rose 23.7 percent to ₹3,40,258 crore, compared to about ₹2.75 lakh crore in the same period last year.
The revenue account accounts for a significant portion of total government expenditure. Of the total revenue expenditure, ₹346,414 crore was spent on interest payments, while ₹114,812 crore was spent on major subsidies such as petroleum products like LPG and fertilizer subsidies provided to farmers.
According to the data, the country’s fiscal deficit in the first quarter of the current financial year was around Rs 3.1 lakh crore, which is 18.2 percent of the budget estimate for the entire financial year.
It is worth noting that the central government achieved the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 percent for the fiscal year 2025-26. Subsequently, the target for the current fiscal year 2026-27 is to further reduce it to 4.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
According to experts, reducing the fiscal deficit strengthens the fundamentals of the economy and paves the way for growth with price stability. This reduces government borrowing, resulting in more funds available in the banking system for lending to corporations and consumers, thereby boosting investment, demand, and economic growth.