Government spending reached 47.7% of budget by September 2026

The Union Government had recorded receipts equal to 50.3% of its budget estimate by September 2026, while expenditure had reached 47.7%, according to the Ministry of Finance’s monthly accounts published on 30 October 2026. The figures show how much had been recorded against the budget estimates by the end of the reporting period.

The comparison offers a snapshot of the government’s finances during the financial year. It is not, on its own, a verdict on whether the budget is on track: receipts and expenditure can follow different patterns through the year, and the supplied figures do not include a monthly schedule against which to assess progress.

What the data shows

By the end of September, total receipts were ₹18,35,422 crore (₹18,354.2 billion), or 50.3% of the budget estimate. Expenditure stood at ₹25,49,835 crore (₹25,498.4 billion), equivalent to 47.7% of the estimate.

The two percentages should be read separately. Receipts include money coming into the government accounts, while expenditure records spending. A higher share of the budget estimate reached by one measure does not, by itself, indicate whether the government is ahead or behind its financial plan.

The reported expenditure total includes both revenue expenditure and capital expenditure. Revenue expenditure was ₹18,95,288 crore, while capital expenditure was ₹6,54,547 crore. These categories describe different types of spending and should not be treated as interchangeable.

The difference between total expenditure and total receipts was ₹7,14,413 crore (₹7,144.1 billion). This is a simple arithmetic gap between the two reported totals. It should not be labelled the official fiscal deficit: that measure has its own accounting definition, and the supplied figures do not provide the full reconciliation needed to establish it.

Where the receipts came from

The monthly review divides receipts into net tax revenue, non-tax revenue and non-debt capital receipts.

• Net tax revenue: ₹12,76,088 crore.
• Non-tax revenue: ₹4,80,732 crore.
• Non-debt capital receipts: ₹78,602 crore.

These figures show the amounts recorded in each category up to September 2026. They do not, by themselves, explain which taxes or non-tax sources contributed most to the totals. The supplied data also does not include a comparison with the same period in an earlier year, so it cannot establish whether any receipt category has grown or fallen year on year.

The categories should be understood as components of the reported receipts, not as independent totals to be added to expenditure. The main comparison for the reporting period remains the aggregate receipts and expenditure against their respective budget estimates.

What the numbers don’t tell us

A percentage of the budget estimate is a measure of progress against a planned annual amount, not a measure of change from the previous year. The figures supplied here do not show the monthly path of receipts and expenditure, seasonal patterns, revised estimates or the same-period results from the previous financial year.

The supplied figures also do not provide a detailed breakdown of the tax and non-tax sources, the ministries responsible for expenditure, or the composition of capital expenditure. Without those details, the data cannot explain why a category reached its reported level or whether the pace will continue.

The difference between expenditure and receipts is useful for describing the two totals, but it is not a substitute for the government’s official fiscal-deficit calculation.

The bottom line

The September accounts put receipts and expenditure at broadly similar shares of their respective budget estimates, with receipts just above half and expenditure just below half. Understanding the government’s overall fiscal position requires the full official deficit measures and comparisons with earlier periods, not just these two headline percentages.