State capital expenditure at 33.5% of FY26 target, shows CAG data

CAG data shows Haryana, Telangana utilised the highest proportion of BE among 19 states

States spent 33.5 per cent of their budgeted capital expenditure (capex) during the April–October period of 2025–26 (FY26), an analysis of monthly account reports of 19 states by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) showed. 

Of the 19 states for which data is available, 16 spent less than 50 per cent of their Budget Estimates (BE) for capex in the first seven months of FY26. Haryana led the group by utilising the highest proportion of its BE, spending 85 per cent. Telangana trailed Haryana with 80.1 per cent, while Kerala and Madhya Pradesh spent 52.9 per cent and 47.8 per cent of their BE, respectively. 

Conversely, four states — Uttar Pradesh (19.4 per cent), Chhattisgarh (17.5 per cent), West Bengal (17.3 per cent), and Tripura (15.1 per cent) — lagged considerably, spending less than 20 per cent of their budgeted capex during the same period. 

This pace of capital outlays contrasts sharply with the aggregate BE of nearly ₹9.01 trillion for capex across these 19 states, of which actual spending until October has touched around ₹3.01 trillion. 

According to the latest Controller General of Accounts data, the Centre’s total capex for the first half (April–September) of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of BE. 

States have utilised about 47.2 per cent of their budgeted revenue expenditure in the first seven months (April–October) of FY26, with the cumulative revenue expenditure of the 19 states reaching ₹20.7 trillion against BE of ₹43.8 trillion. 

Himachal Pradesh (56.5 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (55.5 per cent), and Punjab (45.7 per cent) recorded relatively high revenue expenditure utilisation rates, while Odisha (43.8 per cent), Maharashtra (43 per cent), and Tripura (40.3 per cent) were on the lower end of the spectrum. 

 

On the revenue side, states collected 52.1 per cent of budgeted tax receipts in the first seven months of FY26.  

Actual tax revenue collection across these states stood at ₹17.5 trillion against BE of ₹33.6 trillion. 

Assam led the pack by collecting 57.8 per cent of its budgeted tax revenue, followed by Haryana and Uttarakhand at 56.8 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively. States like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh collected less than 50 per cent of their BE. 

Under the borrowings and other liabilities category, states have utilised 35.4 per cent of their budgeted borrowings, raising ₹3.8 trillion against BE of ₹10.7 trillion. 

Talking about the public and private-sector capex trends, Rajani Sinha, chief economist at CareEdge Ratings, said that while the capex outlook appears optimistic, caution needs to be exercised in light of uneven domestic demand, external economic risks, and global trade policy headwinds. 

“Amid a volatile global economic environment, a durable, broad-based domestic demand recovery remains critical to sustaining the investment momentum,” she added.