New Delhi
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has reported a sharp rise in states’ committed expenditure on salaries, pensions, and interest payments, which has increased 2.49 times in the past decade. The amount rose from ₹6.26 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹15.63 lakh crore in 2022-23.
Revenue expenditure by states accounted for 80–87 percent of total expenditure during 2013-14 to 2022-23. In 2022-23, it stood at 84.73 percent of total expenditure and 13.85 percent of combined GSDP. Of the total revenue expenditure of ₹35.95 lakh crore that year, committed expenditure alone made up nearly 44 percent. Subsidies of ₹3.09 lakh crore and grants-in-aid worth ₹11.26 lakh crore pushed the combined share of these three items to over 83 percent.
Salaries formed the largest component, followed by pensions and interest payments. However, in nine states — including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal — interest payments were higher than pension costs, indicating heavy debt servicing needs.
Subsidy expenses rose even faster, increasing by more than three times in a decade, from ₹96,479 crore in 2013-14 to over ₹3 lakh crore in 2022-23. Overall, revenue expenditure grew 2.66 times during this period.
On fiscal targets, 17 states aimed for a revenue surplus in 2022-23, but five — Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Rajasthan — slipped into deficit. Of the 12 states with revenue deficits, nine received Finance Commission grants. The report highlights mounting fiscal pressures even as states balance welfare spending, salaries, and debt obligations.
