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Last updated: CGA Feb 2026 · IMF WEO (October 2026)

India Government Debt

What India owes — all of it.

Debt-to-GDP since 1991, the Union fiscal deficit month by month, and the difference between the number headlines quote and the number that counts the states. IMF, World Bank and CGA published data only.

Debt-to-GDP
84.3%
2025 · general govt · -0.5 pp YoY
Peak
90.4%
2020 · COVID year
2031 Projection
75.1%
IMF WEO projection
Fiscal Deficit
₹12.53 L Cr
Apr-Feb · FY26 · cumulative · -7.0% YoY
Revenue Deficit
₹3.89 L Cr
Apr-Feb · FY26 · cumulative
Primary Deficit
₹1.87 L Cr
Apr-Feb · FY26 · cumulative

General Government Debt, % of GDP (1991–2031)

Full story →
Centre + states combined (IMF WEO) IMF projections
70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 1991 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 75.1%

Peak 90.4% in 2020; IMF projects 75.1% by 2031. Values as published — years from the WEO publication year onward are IMF projections, drawn dashed.

Union Fiscal Deficit — Cumulative by Month (₹ lakh crore)

Latest: Feb 2026
FY26 (to date) FY25 FY24 FY23
0 5 10 15 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 17.4 16.5 15.8 12.5

Source: CGA Union Government monthly accounts, cumulative within each fiscal year (April–March). The fiscal deficit is financed by borrowing — this line is, in effect, the year's new debt being issued.

Union Government Accounts — Apr to Feb 2026

Indicator FY26 (cumulative) FY25 same period YoY
Total Receipts ₹27.92 lakh cr ₹25.46 lakh cr +9.6%
Revenue Receipts ₹27.26 lakh cr ₹25.09 lakh cr +8.7%
Gross Tax Revenue ₹34.20 lakh cr ₹32.04 lakh cr +6.7%
Net Tax Revenue (Centre) ₹21.45 lakh cr ₹20.16 lakh cr +6.4%
Non-Tax Revenue ₹5.81 lakh cr ₹4.93 lakh cr +17.8%
Non-Debt Capital Receipts ₹0.66 lakh cr ₹0.37 lakh cr +75.4%
Total Expenditure ₹40.45 lakh cr ₹38.93 lakh cr +3.9%
Other Revenue Expenditure ₹7.72 lakh cr ₹7.91 lakh cr -2.5%
Fiscal Deficit ₹12.53 lakh cr ₹13.47 lakh cr -7.0%
Revenue Deficit ₹3.89 lakh cr ₹5.72 lakh cr -32.1%
Effective Revenue Deficit ₹1.69 lakh cr ₹3.38 lakh cr -50.2%
Primary Deficit ₹1.87 lakh cr ₹3.94 lakh cr -52.5%

Values as filed by the Controller General of Accounts (cga.nic.in), cumulative from April 1. YoY compares the same cumulative window of the prior fiscal year. Deficit lines are shortfalls, not balances.

Fiscal Position — FY26 vs FY25

Fiscal Deficit (Apr–Feb)-7.0%
Total Receipts+9.6%
Gross Tax Revenue+6.7%
Total Expenditure+3.9%
Fiscal Reading

Through Feb 2026, the FY26 deficit is running 7.0% below FY25 at the same point, with receipts growing 9.6% against 3.9% expenditure growth. Computed from CGA filed values.

The Three Numbers

Explained →
46.5% Centre only — World Bank's latest year, 2018. Not the same year as the next figure: Centre + states was 71.6% in 2018
84.3% Centre + states — general government, the cross-country standard (IMF, 2025)
> that Everything backed — off-budget borrowings and guarantees sit outside both series; no consolidated figure is published

Key Terms

Fiscal DeficitGap between total expenditure and non-borrowed receipts — the year's borrowing requirement.
Revenue DeficitShortfall of revenue receipts against revenue (day-to-day) expenditure alone.
Primary DeficitFiscal deficit minus interest payments — new borrowing not caused by past borrowing.
General GovernmentCentre and states combined; the IMF's cross-country standard measure.
Debt-to-GDPDebt stock as a share of one year's output — scale, not a repayment schedule.

Frequently Asked

Why are there two debt-to-GDP numbers?

The smaller one counts only the central government. States borrow too — through State Development Loans — and adding them gave a gap of 25.1 percentage points of GDP in 2018, the last year both series overlap.

Are the 2031 figures real data?

No — years from the WEO publication year onward are IMF projections (World Economic Outlook (October 2026)), shown dashed on the charts. Projections get revised.

Is the fiscal deficit the same as new debt?

Broadly, yes: the deficit is financed by borrowing, mostly through the same G-Secs and T-Bills that trade in the bond market.

What do these figures leave out?

Off-budget borrowings, PSU debt and government guarantees sit outside both series. No source in our archive publishes a consolidated series for them, so we don't show a number.

Sources & Vintages

Methodology →
IMF WEO(October 2026)
World Bank WDIthrough 2018
CGA monthly accountsFeb 2026

IMF reports India on a fiscal-year basis under the FY's starting year. The World Bank central-govt series ends where the source stops publishing. Missing values show "—", never estimates.

Disclaimer: This dashboard aggregates macroeconomic data published by the IMF, World Bank and the Controller General of Accounts for informational purposes only. Year-on-year figures are simple arithmetic on the published values. Figures for future years are the IMF's projections, not ours. Nothing here is investment advice or a view on Government of India securities.