Vol. 02 · Union Budget 2026-27 · thepublicrupee.com · Radical Transparency Edition · 17 April 2026

The Public Rupee

A sovereign ledger for a republic of 1.4 billion — every rupee collected, every rupee spent, traced to the document.

Total Expenditure BE 2026-27

₹53.47L Cr

Fiscal Deficit

₹16.96L Cr

4.4% of GDP

RECEIPTS ₹36.52L CR ▲ 7.2%EXPENDITURE ₹53.47L CR ▲ 7.7%FISCAL DEFICIT ₹16.96L CR · 4.4% GDPSTATES SHARE ₹26.21L CR · 41% DEVOLUTIONINTEREST PAYMENTS ₹13.35L CR · LARGEST LINE ITEMGROSS BORROWING ₹15.68L CRRBI SURPLUS ₹2.69L CR TRANSFERREDCAPEX ₹11.21L CR ▲ 10.1%DEFENCE ₹6.97L CRINCOME TAX ₹11.23L CR ▲ 14.4%CORPORATION TAX ₹9.63L CR ▲ 10.8%GST ₹10.75L CR ▲ 11.0%SUBSIDIES ₹5.06L CRPM-KISAN ₹68,000 CR · 9.3 CR FARMERSRECEIPTS ₹36.52L CR ▲ 7.2%EXPENDITURE ₹53.47L CR ▲ 7.7%FISCAL DEFICIT ₹16.96L CR · 4.4% GDPSTATES SHARE ₹26.21L CR · 41% DEVOLUTIONINTEREST PAYMENTS ₹13.35L CR · LARGEST LINE ITEMGROSS BORROWING ₹15.68L CRRBI SURPLUS ₹2.69L CR TRANSFERREDCAPEX ₹11.21L CR ▲ 10.1%DEFENCE ₹6.97L CRINCOME TAX ₹11.23L CR ▲ 14.4%CORPORATION TAX ₹9.63L CR ▲ 10.8%GST ₹10.75L CR ▲ 11.0%SUBSIDIES ₹5.06L CRPM-KISAN ₹68,000 CR · 9.3 CR FARMERS

Trace Your Rupee

PFMS · OMMAS · Demands for Grants · GST Network

Follow a single rupee from the moment you pay tax to its end use on the ground

This is the story of how your money moves through the machinery of the Indian state. From the moment a rupee is collected as GST or income tax, it enters a multi-layered system of pooling, devolution, allocation, release, and finally execution at the ground level. Select a scheme and a state to trace the journey.

Tracing: A rural road (PMGSY) · State: Uttar Pradesh

₹1 crore sanctioned for a 1 km tarred village road

1

STAGE 1 · COLLECTION

You pay GST at a shop

You buy a ₹500 shirt. 5% IGST (₹25) is collected by the retailer and deposited with the GST Council's pool within days, via PFMS-integrated banking.

₹25 of GST on a ₹500 shirt

Source: GST Network

2

STAGE 2 · DEVOLUTION

41% devolves to your state

The Sixteenth Finance Commission fixed the vertical devolution at 41%. Your state's share of that depends on the horizontal formula. For the state you picked, the share is shown below.

₹ X Cr → [STATE]

Source: Annex-4, Union Receipts Budget 2026-27

3

STAGE 3 · MINISTRY ALLOCATION

Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)

The PMGSY scheme is funded by MoRD. FY 2026-27 allocation: ₹19,000 crore. This money flows from the Consolidated Fund of India to the MoRD budget via quarterly releases.

₹19,000 Cr · PMGSY · FY27

Source: Demand for Grants, MoRD

4

STAGE 4 · STATE ROLL-DOWN

State Rural Roads Development Agency (SRRDA)

MoRD releases funds to each state's SRRDA via PFMS. The state provides a 40% counterpart share (60:40 for general states, 90:10 for NE & hill states).

60% Centre · 40% State

Source: PMGSY Operational Guidelines

5

STAGE 5 · TENDER & CONTRACTOR

Contractor wins e-tender via state portal

Zilla Panchayat / state PWD issues e-tender on the state government's procurement portal. Lowest-bidder contractor wins. Money is released in 3 tranches based on GPS-geo-tagged progress photos.

~₹55 lakh per km average

Source: PMGSY unit cost norms

6

STAGE 6 · WAGES, MATERIALS, MARGIN

The actual rupees on the ground

Of the unit cost: ~40% materials (bitumen, aggregate, steel), ~35% labour wages, ~15% equipment, ~10% contractor margin & overhead. Payments flow through the contractor's bank account, traced on PFMS.

40% mat · 35% wages · 15% eqp · 10% margin

Source: CPWD schedule of rates

7

STAGE 7 · THE ROAD

A 1 km tarred road outside your village

Geo-tagged. Physical audit by state quality monitors. Utilisation data uploaded to OMMAS (Online Management, Monitoring & Accounting System).

✓ Asset created · public good delivered

Source: OMMAS, MoRD

Scheme-level Leakage & Execution Risk

PMGSY is among the better-tracked schemes — geo-tagging, GPS progress photos, and PFMS integration have cut leakage considerably since 2014. CAG audits still routinely find 15–25% of road length with substandard quality or short lifespans. The FY26 utilisation was ~59% of the allocation.