Key Highlights
- Total outlay for 2025‑26 stands at ₹50,65,345 crore, merging revenue and capital spending.
- Fiscal deficit target is 4.4% of GDP, while primary deficit is limited to 0.8% of GDP.
- Defence receives the highest single‑ministerial allocation at ₹4,91,732 crore.
- Income Tax contributes 22% of total revenue; borrowings and other liabilities remain the largest revenue source at 24%.
- Major social schemes such as PM‑KISAN (₹63,500 crore), PM‑Awas Yojana (₹74,626 crore) and Jal Jeevan Mission (₹67,000 crore) are reinforced.
Detailed Insights
The budget, delivered by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February 2025, aims to invigorate growth by channeling funds to infrastructure, defence, and inclusive welfare programmes. Capital receipts total ₹16,44,936 crore, while revenue receipts are projected at ₹34,20,409 crore, indicating a balanced reliance on market borrowings and tax collections. Interest payments continue to consume 20% of total expenditure, underscoring the importance of fiscal consolidation.
Sector‑wise allocations reveal a strategic tilt: Transport infrastructure receives ₹5,48,649 crore, education is allotted ₹1,28,650 crore, and health care gets ₹98,311 crore. The Ministry of Science & Technology benefits with ₹38,613.32 crore, reflecting an emphasis on innovation. Major subsidies—including food, fertilizer, and petroleum—are capped at 6% of total outlay, while central sector schemes (excluding defence and major subsidies) account for 16% of spending.
Key Concepts
- Fiscal Deficit: The gap between total expenditure and total revenue (including borrowings), expressed as a percentage of GDP.
- Primary Deficit: Fiscal deficit excluding interest payments, indicating the net borrowing requirement.
- Revenue Deficit: Shortfall when revenue expenditure exceeds revenue receipts, also measured against GDP.
- Capital Receipts: Funds raised through borrowings, disinvestment, and other capital‑raising measures.
- Central Sector Schemes: Centrally sponsored programmes financed largely by the union budget, excluding defence and major subsidies.