I built an interactive dashboard to decode 6 years of Union Budget data. Here’s what I found.
The headline number? India’s budget grew from Rs. 34.8 lakh crores (2021-22) to Rs. 53.5 lakh crores (2026-27), a 53% jump in five years.
But the real story is in the shifts happening underneath.
The Big Three: Where 60% of Your Money Goes
- Interest Payments, Rs. 14.04 lakh crores (26.3%) Before a single road gets built, over a quarter of the budget services debt. Let that sink in.
- Infrastructure & Development, Rs. 10.59 lakh crores (19.8%) Roads, rails, telecom, housing. The visible spending.
- Defence, Rs. 7.98 lakh crores (14.9%) Rs. 7.85 lakh crores for 2026-27 alone, up 64% since 2021-22.
Three Trends That Should Be on Your Radar
Capital Expenditure is Rising The revenue-to-capital ratio shifted from 84:16 to 77:23 over six years. Translation? Less on salaries and subsidies, more on highways and factories. Asset creation > consumption spending.
Infrastructure is the Darling Roads + Railways + Housing combined: Rs. 2.82 lakh crores (2021-22) → Rs. 6.77 lakh crores (2026-27). That’s 139% growth. If you’re in construction, logistics, or real estate, this is your macro tailwind.
Finance Ministry = 37% of Total Budget At Rs. 19.72 lakh crores, Finance dwarfs everyone. But strip out interest payments (Rs. 14 lakh crores) and state transfers (Rs. 3.94 lakh crores), and operational spending is modest. The Ministry is essentially a pass-through entity.
What’s Surprisingly Small?
- Healthcare (AYUSH + Health): 0.17%, Yes, you read that right
- Culture: Rs. 3,900 crores, Less than some Mumbai apartments
- Environment: Under 2%, Climate commitments, meet budget reality
The Dashboard
I’ve put together an interactive Tableau visualization covering all 100+ departments across 6 budget years. Slice by ministry, category, or year. Compare revenue vs capital. Spot your own patterns.
Explore the Dashboard → (Best viewed on desktop full screen mode)
Numbers don’t lie, but they do hide. Sometimes all they need is a good chart.
What surprised you most about these allocations? Drop a comment, I’d love to hear from fellow number-nerds.