States' expenses on salary, pension, interest payment rise 2.5 times in 10 years since FY14: CAG

New Delhi: The committed expenditure on salaries, pensions, and interest payments increased by 2.49 times to Rs 15,63,649 crore in fiscal 2022-23 across all states from Rs 6,26,849 crore in 2013-14, said a CAG report on state finances.

A large share of the revenue expenditure is either committed or tied up.

Salaries, pensions, and interest payments on public debt and liabilities are treated as 'committed expenditure'.

During the 10-year period from 2013-14 to 2022-23, revenue expenditure by the states constituted 80-87 per cent of the total expenditure and as percentage of combined GSDP, it was about 13-15 per cent. In FY 2022-23, revenue expenditure was 84.73 per cent of total expenditure and 13.85 per cent of combined GSDP, said the publication on State Finances 2022-23, the first of its kind by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

In FY 2022-23, out of the total revenue expenditure of Rs 35,95,736 crore, the committed expenditure was Rs 15,63,649 crore; Rs 3,09,625 crore on subsidies and Rs 11,26,486 crore on grants-in aid.

These three components totalling Rs 29,99,760 crore together constituted more than 83 per cent of total revenue expenditure, according to the report which provides an overview of finances of 28 states for the financial year 2022-23, together with fiscal data and analysis relating to the ten-year period from FY 2013-14.

According the report, committed expenditure on salaries, pensions and interest payment was Rs 6,26,849 crore in FY 2013-14 for all the states, which went up to Rs 15,63,649 crore in FY 2022-23.

Expenditure on subsidy, which was Rs 96,479 crore in 2013-14 for all the states went up to Rs 3,09,625 crore for the states in 2022-23.

"Over the period 2013-14 to 2022-23, revenue expenditure increased by 2.66 times, committed expenditure increased by 2.49 times, and subsidy increased by 3.21 times," it said.

Salaries constituted the largest component, followed by pensionary expenditure and interest payment. This was the case in 2022-23 for 19 states.

In nine states, however, interest payment was higher than pensionary expenditure (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal), indicating relatively higher debt servicing requirements, it said.

However, during the previous nine-year period from FY 2013-14 to 2021-22, the interest payment was the second largest component of the committed expenditure after salaries.

The report also revealed 17 states targeted revenue surplus, five states targeted revenue deficit and six targeted zero revenue deficit in fiscal 2022-23.

Out of 17 states that targeted revenue surplus, 5 states -- Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Rajasthan -- ended up in revenue deficit in 2022-23, and only 12 achieved the target of revenue surplus.

Five states targeted revenue deficits -- 3.30 per cent in case of Andhra Pradesh, 0.98 per cent Haryana, 0.78 per cent Karnataka, 1.42 per cent Maharashtra and 1.99 per cent Punjab.

Out of these, Karnataka turned to revenue surplus, Maharashtra remained within the target of 1.42 per cent of GSDP and remaining three states breached the revenue deficit targets.

Of the 12 states that were in revenue deficit in 2022-23, only nine -- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal -- received Finance Commission revenue deficit grants in 2022-23.