Capital expenditure of the center in the first 11 months of the financial year reached around 80% of the full year, the pace of the relaxation of expenses in February compared to the previous month.
According to official data published by the General Controller of Accounts on Friday, capital expenses of the center were RS 8.11 Lakh crore between April 2024 and February 2025, which represented 79.7% of the revised target of Rs 10.18 Lakh crores. He had spent an RS 8.05 Lakh crore almost similar as capital expenses during the same period in the last financial year.
Significantly, the capital expenditure in February was only RS 54,528 crosses, which was the lowest since December 2024, when the center had spent Rs 1.71 Lakh crores as CAPEX. In January, the capex was Rs 72 022 crore.
Analysts point out that this would mean that the center would find it difficult to achieve its full tax objective for CAPEX this exercise. RE has been reduced by the original objective of RS 11.1 crores Lakh due to lower expenses due to the general elections and an unusually long monsoon.
Capital expenditure by the main infra -ministries of railways and roads amounted to 91% of RE and 90% respectively in the first 11 months of the financial year.
Aditi Nayar, chief economist and chief – Research and awareness, ICRA noted that the Capex of the Center must extend from approximately 44% in annual shift to touch RS 2.1 Lakh crore in March 2025 to respect the revised estimate of the financial year2025, which seems to be a request. “Consequently, we expect a modest underlying in CAPEX compared to the objective of RS. 10.2 Lakh crores in accordance with the 201025 financial year.
The Center’s budget deficit remained in check at RS 13.46 Lakh crores or 85.8% of the entire year objective, with expectations that it could do better than the revised estimate of 4.8% of GDP for the current budget.
Nayar said the ICRA expects the budget deficit largely in accordance with the absolute REs for Rs. 15.7 crores Lakh. “Interestingly, the NSO has set nominal GDP at Rs. 331.0 Billions according to its second advanced estimate (SAE) for the 201025 financial year, which is higher in the first prior estimate (FAE) of RS. 324.1 Billions of dollars that have been used in the Union budget,” she said, adding that the tax deficit will be contained in 4.7 that the RE of 4.8% for the exercise.
