The bulk of the capital allocation has gone to defence (Rs 14,822 crore) and highways (Rs 15,415 crore)

NEW DELHI: The government has started the new fiscal with a spurt in capital spending, providing large sums for defence and highways, data released on Friday showed. 

The total spending in April was Rs 2.23 lakh crore, Rs 1.77 lakh crore revenue spending and Rs 46,703 crore capital spending. Total receipts for the month were Rs 71,450 crore, which is 3.9% of the budget estimate and higher than 2.3% for the month last year. 

The fiscal deficit was 24.3% of the budget estimates against 37.6% same time last year. The deficits are usually high in first few months as tax revenues are low. They tend to improve after payment of first instalment of corporate tax in June. 

The bulk of the capital allocation has gone to defence (Rs 14,822 crore) and highways (Rs 15,415 crore). Civil aviation has received Rs 650 crore. The total capital spending is 15.6% of the full year budget estimate compared with 9.3% for last April.