The government recorded a budget surplus during the first seven months of this year, according to the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
The Ministry of Finance published its latest Weekly Fiscal Development Report, detailing the revenue and expenditure figures for the first 28 weeks of the year.
According to the statistics, the government received USD 1.44 billion in revenue and grants between 1 January and 31 July, a 2.7 percent increase compared to the USD 1.40 billion Rs 21.6 billion recorded during the same period last year.
Of the revenue, tax revenue accounted for USD 1.11 billion, while USD 311.44 came from non-tax revenue sources.
The total government expenditure from the state budget stood at USD 1.42 billion, a 17.4 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. Recurrent expenditure declined by 2.2 percent, while capital expenditure also dropped by 60.8 percent.
Of the recurrent expenditure, 56.2 percent was utilised for administrative operations of government offices. This figure is 7.3 percent down compared to the same period last year. Expenditure on office supplies also declined 20.0 percent, while repairs and maintenance costs dropped by 20.1 percent.
According to the Finance Ministry, the state budget spent USD 175.06 million on capital expenditure as of last week. Of this, USD 149.21 million was allocated to infrastructure development, including road construction, bridges and airport development.
The 2025 national budget allocated USD 804.80 million for the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). So far, USD 220.46 million has been spent on such projects this year.
Among PSIP allocations, USD 142.71 million was spent on projects aimed at improving access to and from islands, while USD 7.43 million was spent on various housing initiatives. Despite these investments, the government has undertaken efforts to strengthen policies related to PSIP implementation, which resulted in a reduction in overall expenditure under the programme.
According to the Weekly Fiscal Development Report, the overall balance of the state budget was maintained at a surplus of USD 20.38 million from 1 January 1 to 31 July. This is a significant turnaround compared to the USD 415.06 million deficit recorded during the same period last year. In 2023, the budget was also in deficit by USD 272.37 million for the same period.