According to an analysis of monthly accounts released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, 20 states utilised 77.23% of their combined annual budgeted capital expenditure of ₹10.26 trillion in FY26, amounting to ₹7.92 trillion. This marked a slight decline from FY25, when 26 states had collectively spent 80.23% of their budgeted capex of ₹9.71 trillion, amounting to ₹7.79 trillion, suggesting the pace of state-level capital spending has slipped in FY26.
Among the 20 states for which full-year data is available, Telangana topped the charts with 147.58% utilisation, followed by Karnataka at 102.46%, Himachal Pradesh at 96.73%, Haryana at 96.56%, and Bihar at 87.14%. At the other end, West Bengal utilised just 48.06% of its Budget Estimate on capex, down from 60.40% in FY25, possibly due to the just concluded assembly elections. Rajasthan followed at 51.82%, Chhattisgarh at 57.12%, and Tripura at 63.34% in FY26.
The state-wise picture reveals a sharp churn at the top and bottom relative to the last financial year. Telangana posted the largest improvement, climbing from 108.13% in FY25 to 147.58% in FY26 – a jump of nearly 39 percentage points. Haryana followed closely with an almost identical jump, lifting its utilisation from 57.86% to 96.56%. Himachal Pradesh improved from 71.58% to 96.73%, and Andhra Pradesh from 42.26% to 66.11%. At the other end, Bihar's capex utilisation fell from 125.43% in FY25 to 87.14% in FY26, Madhya Pradesh's slipped from 116.25% to 86.53%, and Karnataka's from 114.43% to 102.46%.
During FY26, the 20 states spent 87.77% of their budgeted revenue expenditure of ₹50.16 trillion, lower than the 90.72% recorded by 26 states in FY25. Bihar recorded the highest utilisation at 101.63%, exceeding its Budget Estimate, followed by Chhattisgarh at 96.85%, Gujarat at 96.35%, Punjab at 95.47%, and Himachal Pradesh at 95.42%. On the receipts side, states collected 91.64% of their budgeted tax revenue of ₹36.94 trillion during FY26, down from 95.27% in FY25. Haryana led with collections equivalent to 99.23% of its annual target, followed by Maharashtra at 98.28%.
The full-year figures also reflect a customary year-end surge in state spending. After the first 11 months of FY26, 22 states had utilised just over 55% of their budgeted capex, suggesting that a significant share of annual state capex was incurred in the final month of the financial year. Borrowings and other liabilities comfortably crossed the budgeted mark in several states, with the 20 states collectively utilising 88.66% of their budgeted borrowings, raising ₹11.47 trillion against a full-year target of ₹12.93 trillion for FY26. Bihar (241.97%), Rajasthan (165.83%), Telangana (143.98%), and Tamil Nadu (112.90%) borrowed significantly more than they had budgeted, while Maharashtra utilised just 46.68% of its borrowing limit.
