Public administration & defence services.

Public administration and defence is general government itself — the courts, ministries, police, armed forces and local bodies that have no market price, so national accounts value their output at cost: roughly ₹11 lakh crore of compensation for about 14-14.5 million central, state, local and armed-forces personnel plus about ₹3.5 lakh crore of depreciation on government buildings, roads and equipment. At ₹15.5 lakh crore in FY26 (4.9% of national GVA) it is larger than banking or all of mining and utilities combined, yet by construction there are no companies to own and the Equity Representation Ratio is zero. Its growth is legislated rather than earned, moving in steps at each decade's pay commission (Sixth in FY09, Seventh in FY17, Eighth expected FY28 with effect from January 2026) and otherwise tracking dearness-allowance indexation, slow headcount change and depreciation on a compounding public capital stock. It matters to investors mainly as a driver of household income, urban consumption and the fiscal deficit, with defence manufacturers (Chapter 27) and PSU banks' government business (Chapter 55) as the closest listed proxies.

Estimated GVA

15.5 ₹ lakh crore · FY26

Share of national GVA

4.9 % · FY26

Compensation of employees (wages)

~11 ₹ lakh crore · FY26

Consumption of fixed capital (CFC)

~3.5 ₹ lakh crore · FY26

Other input costs

~1 ₹ lakh crore · FY26

Total employment

~14.5 (snapshot) / 14 (Table 62.1) million workers · FY26

Consolidated salaries & pensions (Centre + states)

20 ₹ lakh crore · FY26

Defence budget

6.8 ₹ lakh crore · FY26