The Centre’s dividend receipts from central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) have exceeded the budget target by 10.5% to Rs 78,438 crore in FY26, the highest-ever annual receipt.
In the revised estimates for FY26, the government pegged CPSE dividend receipts at rs 71,000 crore, marginally higher than the budget estimate of Rs 69,000 crore, signalling confidence in sustained profitability across key public sector undertakings.
Dividend income from CPSEs is an important component of the Centre’s non-tax revenue, alongside other major sources such as surplus transfers from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and proceeds from telecom spectrum auctions.
In FY25, CPSE dividend receipts climbed to a record Rs 74,140 crore, comfortably exceeding the budgeted target of Rs 69,000 crore. That outperformance was aided by relatively benign global crude oil and commodity prices, which supported profitability in several state-owned energy companies.
The pattern has broadly continued in FY26, with dividend payments once again dominated by energy sector enterprises. In FY26, the top dividend payers include Coal India (Rs 10,271 crore), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (Rs 10,002 crore), Indian Oil Corporation (Rs 7,272 crore), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (Rs 5,171 crore), underscoring the sector’s continued importance to government finances.
In addition to traditional CPSEs, financial and quasi-sovereign investment vehicles have emerged as significant dividend contributors. The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund has paid a dividend of Rs 4,013 crore to the Centre so far, highlighting the growing role of such platforms in augmenting non-tax receipts.
Higher dividend inflows from CPSEs, together with the record surplus transfer from the Reserve Bank of India, have helped cushion the Centre’s fiscal position in recent years. Supported by an RBI dividend of Rs 2.69 lakh crore, the fiscal deficit for FY26 has been pegged at 4.4% of GDP, lower than 4.8% in FY25.