Data Alert
Apr-Sept major subsidies spend picks up pace, still down 5.7% YoY
This story was originally published at 19:53 IST on 1 November 2025
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NEW DELHI – The government's expenditure on major subsidies in the first half of 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) was down 5.7% on year but picked up pace in September, after the spending in the first five months dipped 15.8% from the year-ago period. The spend on major subsidies reached INR 2.024 trillion by the end of September, data from the Controller General of Accounts released Friday showed. Expenditure on major subsidies in Apr-Sept accounted for 53% of the Budget target of INR 3.834 trillion for FY26.
The government's food subsidy bill was down by over a quarter on year to INR 884 billion in Apr-Sept as against INR 1.214 trillion spent in the corresponding period a year ago. Fertiliser subsidy remained on the opposite track, up 19.9% on year to INR 1.073 billion in Apr-Sept. The petroleum subsidy bill rose to INR 67.17 billion by end-September from INR 5.06 billion a month ago, and was up nearly 80% on year in Apr-Sept.
For FY26, the government has pegged an expenditure on major subsidies at INR 3.83 trillion, compared with INR 3.88 trillion spent in FY25.
The following table details major subsidies in Apr-Sept (in INR billion):
| Apr-Sept FY26 | Apr-Sept FY25 | Budget Estimate FY26 | Year-on-year % change | |
| Food | 883.75 | 1,214.37 | 2,034.20 | (-)27.2 |
| Fertiliser | 1,072.75 | 632.67 | 1,678.87 | 19.9 |
| Petroleum | 67.17 | 37.61 | 121.00 | 78.6 |
| Total | 2,023.67 | 2,146.58 | 3,834.07 | (-)5.7 |
End
Reported by Aaryan Khanna
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
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