Budget 2026-27: capex of ₹12.2 lakh crore and a 4.3% deficit target, from the new Parliament building

The Union government presented its 2026-27 budget in New Delhi on February 1, from the new Parliament building at the Central Vista — the first budget to be read out from the chambers completed for the 75th year of independence. The release published the same day puts total expenditure for the year at ₹53.5 lakh crore and the fiscal deficit at 4.3% of GDP, with public capital expenditure of ₹12.2 lakh crore.

1. 1.Total expenditure, 2026-27: ₹53.5 lakh crore
2. 2.Fiscal deficit: 4.3% of GDP
3. 3.Public capital expenditure: ₹12.2 lakh crore
4. 4.Effective Union capital expenditure, per the framework statement: ₹17.15 lakh crore
5. 5.Total liabilities of the Union government: 55.6% of GDP

The two capital figures measure different things and the distinction is easy to lose. The ₹12.2 lakh crore figure is the budgeted capital outlay of the Union government. The Macroeconomic Framework Statement, released hours earlier on February 1, puts effective Union capital expenditure for the same year at ₹17.15 lakh crore, a number that counts capital spending delivered through instruments the government does not book as direct budget outlay. Analysts use the second figure to describe the size of the public investment push; the first is the line that runs through the appropriation demand.

The deficit target is the number most closely watched, because it is the constraint every other line has to fit inside. At 4.3% of GDP, it is the same order of magnitude as the ratios India has run through the current fiscal cycle, and the statement's projection of outstanding liabilities at 55.6% of GDP keeps the consolidated picture in view alongside the headline.