The Rise And Rise Of Budget For Key Sectors. See The Numbers

There has been a consistent rise in expenditure on major Union Budget items such as defence, education and health, according to data from FY26 and the allocation for FY27 announced today by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The sum total of the budget for these key sectors for FY27 has crossed Rs 53 lakh crore, a rise by 5.57 per cent since FY26, data shows.

Among these sectors, the percentage of rise in spending increased the most on energy - Rs 1.09 lakh crore. This is a 36 per cent rise (Rs 28,855 crore) from what the government spent on energy in FY26 - Rs 80,174 crore.

After energy, the percentage rise in spending is the highest on defence - Rs 5.94 lakh crore, which is a 21 per cent (Rs 1.02 lakh crore) rise from Rs 4.91 lakh crore in FY26.

These two are followed by budget allocations for subsidies on food at Rs 2.27 lakh crore, which is 11.90 per cent rise from Rs 2.03 lakh crore in FY16.

The government earmarked Rs 1.39 lakh crore for education and Rs 1.04 lakh crore for health in FY27 - a rise by 9 per cent and 7 per cent since FY26, respectively.

These key sectors include - apart from the ones mentioned above - interest payments, pension, rural development, home affairs, agriculture and allied activities, fertiliser subsidy, urban development, IT and telecom, commerce and industry, social welfare, and scientific departments.

Fiscal Deficit

From FY25 to FY27, the absolute value of the fiscal deficit rose from Rs 16 lakh crore to 16.95 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), however, decreased from 4.80 per cent in FY25 to 4.30 per cent in FY27.

The fiscal deficit in FY26 was Rs 15.68 lakh crore, or 4.40 per cent of GDP. In FY27, it is projected at Rs 16.95 lakh crore, which comes to 4.30 per cent of GDP.

Capex

Capital expenditure saw the biggest rise in spending, data shows. It went from Rs 10.52 lakh crore in FY25 to Rs 12.22 lakh crore in FY27. This represents a total increase of 16 per cent over the two-year period.

When compared with the previous FY26, the growth in FY27 is 9.01 per cent to Rs 12.22 lakh crore.