16 States Post Revenue Surplus, Uttar Pradesh tops the list: CAG Report

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its State Finances 2022-23 report, revealed a mixed fiscal picture with 16 states recording a revenue surplus while 12 reported a revenue deficit in FY 2022-23.

Revenue Surplus States

• Uttar Pradesh topped the list with a surplus of ₹37,000 crore.
• Other major surplus states included:
  • Gujarat: ₹19,865 crore
  • Odisha: ₹19,456 crore
  • Jharkhand: ₹13,564 crore
  • Karnataka: ₹13,496 crore
  • Chhattisgarh: ₹8,592 crore
  • Telangana: ₹5,944 crore
  • Uttarakhand: ₹5,310 crore
  • Madhya Pradesh: ₹4,091 crore
  • Goa: ₹2,399 crore

Notably, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh—once part of the BIMARU category—featured among the surplus states.

Revenue Deficit States

• Andhra Pradesh reported the largest revenue deficit at ₹43,488 crore.
• Other states with high deficits included:
  • Tamil Nadu: ₹36,215 crore
  • Rajasthan: ₹31,491 crore
  • West Bengal: ₹27,295 crore
  • Punjab: ₹26,045 crore
  • Haryana: ₹17,212 crore
  • Assam: ₹12,072 crore
  • Bihar: ₹11,288 crore
  • Kerala: ₹9,226 crore
  • Himachal Pradesh: ₹6,336 crore
  • Maharashtra: ₹1,936 crore
  • Meghalaya: ₹44 crore

In four states — Bihar, Kerala, Meghalaya, and Maharashtra — revenue receipts were between 90–100% of revenue expenditure.

Rising Role of Central Grants and Assistance

• The share of grants and central assistance in states’ revenue receipts rose from 14.31% in FY 2013-14 to a peak of 23.66% in FY 2020-21, before easing to 16.85% in FY 2022-23.
• As a share of combined GSDP, grants and central assistance increased from 1.82% in FY 2013-14 to 2.28% in FY 2022-23.
• Nine states accounted for nearly 60% of total central grants and assistance (₹5,91,830 crore):
  • Uttar Pradesh: 10.12%
  • Maharashtra: 8.69%
  • West Bengal: 6.47%
  • Tamil Nadu: 6.38%
  • Madhya Pradesh: 6.24%
  • Karnataka: 6.23%
  • Andhra Pradesh: 6.11%
  • Rajasthan: 5.04%
  • Assam: 5.03%