Roads, rail, defence share in capex at 62.8% in FY26, lowest in four years

Defence capex rises, as road and rail falls flat

The share of roads, rail and defence allocations, which account for nearly two-thirds of the government’s total capex spend, is set to decline to its lowest level of 62.8 percent in FY26, a Moneycontrol analysis of Budget documents found.

While the three had a 67.2 percent share in capex in FY25, analysis shows that their share declined to 62.8 percent in FY26.

The three sectors accounted for 70 percent of the capex spending in FY24 and 68.7 percent the previous year.

The three sectors account for Rs 7 lakh crore of the Rs 11.2 lakh crore the government plans to spend on capital in FY26.

Roads and rail capex flat in FY26

Road capex is set to stay flat for the first time in a decade, as the ministry plans to spend Rs 2.72 lakh crore compared with the same amount spent in FY25 as per revised estimates.

Road capex budget allocation hasn’t changed from FY25 when the government had projected to spend Rs 2,72,241 crore.

Railways capex is also flat from the previous year, as the government allocated Rs 2.52 lakh crore for FY26, similar to what it spent in the previous fiscal.

The share of roads capex declined to a four year low.

Defence capex surges

The only category to record a rise was defence capex, which increased nearly 13 percent to Rs 1.8 lakh crore in FY26 compared with Rs 1.6 lakh crore spent the previous year.

Defence capex had just risen 1.4 percent in FY15.

The rise in defence capex comes at a time when the government has eyeing higher defence production and has also witnessed a jump in defence exports.