he government has achieved a significant budget surplus of MVR 3.4 billion through strategic expenditure reductions while maintaining revenue growth, according to the latest financial statistics released by the Ministry of Finance.
As of last Thursday, state revenue reached MVR 11.2 billion, representing an increase of approximately MVR 500 million compared to the same period last year. Tax revenue accounted for MVR 8.7 billion of this total, with the remaining MVR 2.5 billion generated from other revenue sources.
The economic reform initiatives implemented by the government have resulted in substantial expenditure decreases across multiple categories. Recurrent expenditure declined from MVR 8.9 billion during the comparable period last year to MVR 8.4 billion this year. This reduction was primarily driven by a MVR 600 million decrease in operational costs, which totaled MVR 4.8 billion for the current period.
Capital expenditure saw the most dramatic reduction, falling from nearly MVR 3 billion last year to just MVR 693 million this year—a reduction of over 76 percent.
Despite these overall cuts, spending on state salaries and pensions increased from MVR 3.3 billion to MVR 3.6 billion year-over-year.
The fiscal improvements have also benefited the Sovereign Development Fund, which received deposits of MVR 437.1 million as of April 10, up from MVR 342 million during the same period last year—representing a 27.8 percent increase.
The MVR 3.4 billion budget surplus, recorded as of April 10, demonstrates the effectiveness of the government’s fiscal management strategies in balancing revenue generation with controlled expenditure.
