How India's monsoon shaped this year's food inflation
A patchy June and a heavy August moved vegetable prices more than any policy decision did. We trace the rain, mandi by mandi.
Meera Kulkarni
Public Finance
Fiscal Deficit
4.5%
-0.4ppfrom 4.9%
As of 31 March 2026Annual
A steady post-pandemic consolidation
Fiscal deficit, % of GDP, by fiscal year
Source: Union Budget documents; illustrative figuresShare or embed this chart
What this measures
The fiscal deficit is the gap between what the central government spends and what it earns, as a share of GDP. India has been on a multi-year consolidation path down from the pandemic-era peak, a trajectory the Union Budget tracks closely each year.
Source & release schedule
Controller General of Accounts, Union Budget documents
Full-year figures released after the fiscal year closes (April–March); revised estimates given in each Budget.
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