54.5% of city households say the economy got worse. A year ago it was 40.9%.
RBI's September 2026 survey of 6,054 urban respondents: 54.5% say the economy got worse, up from 40.9% a year ago. Only 26.1% saw their income rise.
CapitalVia Research Desk ·
Data story · 1 Nov 2026
Centre's accounts · April–September 2026
Of every ₹100 of tax the Centre kept, ₹51 went to interest.
In the first half of 2026-27, the Union government's interest bill grew three times faster than the tax it keeps after paying states their share. Two years ago, interest took ₹41.
₹50.6
of every ₹100 of net tax revenue went on interest payments, April–September 2026.
H1 2024-25: ₹40.7
H1 2025-26: ₹47.0
Full-year budget: ₹49.0
Five first halves, one direction since 2024
Interest paid per ₹100 of net tax revenue, April–September of each year
2022-23H1
₹43.2
2023-24H1
₹41.7
2024-25H1
₹40.7
2025-26H1
₹47.0
2026-27H1
₹50.6
₹50 — half the tax takeScale: ₹0–₹70
Why: the bill grew, the take didn't
Growth from April–Sept 2024 to April–Sept 2026
+25.4%
Interest payments
₹5.15 → ₹6.46 lakh crore
+0.9%
Net tax revenue
₹12.65 → ₹12.76 lakh crore
Three more numbers from the same accounts
Interest vs capital spending
₹6.46 vs ₹6.55 lakh cr
The Centre spent almost as much servicing debt as on all its capital expenditure in the half-year.
Fiscal deficit used
42.1% of full-year target
₹7.14 lakh crore by September, against 36.5% at the same point last year.
Before interest
−₹68,403 cr
The primary balance swung into deficit. A year earlier it was a ₹5,059 crore surplus: everything except interest had been covered.
Why it matters
Salaried employees
Your income tax and GST increasingly pay for past borrowing. When half the take is spoken for, room for further tax relief narrows. Net tax was flat over a stretch that included the 2025 income-tax and GST rate cuts.
Founders
The Centre raised ₹5.38 lakh crore through market borrowing by September, 41% of its yearly plan versus 33% a year ago. Heavy government borrowing competes for the same savings that fund business credit.
Business leaders
Capex is still running ahead (53.6% of budget used). But a rising interest share is the line to watch for future spending on roads, rail and defence orders.
How to read this. "Net tax" is the tax the Centre keeps after transferring states their share. Interest is on all of the Centre's debt. Ratios and growth rates are CapitalVia's calculations from CGA monthly accounts; the CGA's own totals were re-added and match.
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