Capital expenditure by 22 states reached a three-year high utilisation rate of 16.11% during April-July FY27, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General's monthly accounts analysis. The states spent ₹1.72 trillion out of their combined budgeted capex allocation of ₹10.65 trillion for the full financial year. This represents an improvement from the 15.77% utilisation rate achieved in the same period of FY26, marking the highest April-July utilisation rate since FY24.
Kerala emerged as the top performer, utilising 42.36% of its annual capex allocation by the end of July, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 27.07%, Punjab at 23.39%, Madhya Pradesh at 22.94%, and Gujarat at 22.03%. At the opposite end, West Bengal utilised only 4.04% of its allocation during the period, while Tripura and Meghalaya recorded 5.26% and 5.49% respectively. Notably, both Kerala and West Bengal held Assembly elections during this period, highlighting the political context of spending patterns.
Uttar Pradesh, the most heavily budgeted state with ₹1.78 trillion capex allocation, spent only 10.15% by the end of July. Other major states including Odisha (12.04%), Tamil Nadu (12.97%), and Karnataka (14.61%) also recorded slower spending rates. The analysis shows that capital spending continues to trail routine outgo, with states collectively spending ₹13.39 trillion or 25.34% of their combined budgeted revenue expenditure of ₹52.83 trillion between April and July.
In revenue spending, Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest utilisation at 35.50% of the full-year target, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 35.20%, Telangana at 33.70%, and Kerala at 29.80%. Bihar (20.30%), Maharashtra (20.50%), and Karnataka (21.80%) were among the slower performers. For tax collections, states collected ₹11.02 trillion between April and July, equivalent to 27.23% of their combined budgeted tax revenue of ₹40.48 trillion for FY27. Haryana led with 32.47% collection, followed by Gujarat at 31.91%.
