West Bengal's GSDP grew at 9.57% CAGR from 2015-16 to 2024-25, revenue deficit persisted: CAG

West Bengal's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.57% between 2015-16 and 2024-25, even as the state continued to post revenue deficits throughout the period, according to a CAG report tabled in the assembly on Saturday.

The state's GSDP rose from ₹7.97 lakh crore in 2015-16 to ₹18.15 lakh crore in 2024-25, the State Finances Audit Report said.

The state recorded a GSDP growth of 9.91% in 2024-25 alone, it said.

Despite the economic growth, the state recorded revenue deficits every year during the decade, while the fiscal deficit expanded at a CAGR of 12.83%, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said.

The state's new BJP government tabled 28 long-pending CAG reports in the assembly, and said a special session would be convened to discuss them, alleging that the previous TMC dispensation committed a "constitutional lapse" by not placing them in the House.

In 2024-25, the state posted a revenue deficit of ₹39,727 crore, equivalent to 2.19% of GSDP, while the fiscal deficit stood at ₹61,924 crore, or 3.41% of GSDP, remaining within the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act ceiling of 3.5%.

However, the state's outstanding liabilities stood at 38.66% of GSDP as on March 31, 2025, marginally exceeding the FRBM benchmark of 38%.

According to the report, revenue receipts increased 6.71% year-on-year to ₹2,13,700 crore in 2024-25. However, revenue buoyancy remained below one, indicating that revenue growth lagged the pace of economic expansion.

Transfers from the Centre accounted for 52% of the state's total revenue receipts during the year.

Revenue expenditure stood at ₹2,53,427 crore, or 118.59% of revenue receipts. Committed expenditure accounted for more than half of the revenue expenditure over the past five years and, along with subsidy expenditure of ₹19,444 crore, absorbed nearly 74% of the state's revenue receipts during 2024-25.

The report also noted that 41% of the revenue expenditure was financed through net borrowings, while subsidy expenditure rose 85.61% over the previous year.

Capital expenditure declined 25% to ₹21,622 crore in 2024-25 from ₹28,963 crore in the previous fiscal and accounted for only 1.19% of GSDP.

On budgetary management, the report said the state incurred expenditure of ₹3,19,975.79 crore against a budget provision of ₹3,90,638.04 crore, resulting in savings of ₹70,662.25 crore, or 18.09% of the total allocation.

The report noted excess expenditure of ₹13,486.92 crore under seven grants and one appropriation during 2024-25 that requires legislative regularisation. It also said unregularised excess expenditure for the period from 2009 to 2024 stood at ₹57,263.62 crore.

Reviewing the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the CAG said the state received ₹5,889.49 crore as the Centre's share during 2024-25, while ₹8,296.51 crore remained unspent in Single Nodal Agency bank accounts as on March 31, 2025.

It further noted that only 14 of the 67 Centrally Sponsored Schemes had been onboarded to the SNA-SPARSH platform by the end of the financial year.

The report also said ₹535.59 crore was transferred from the Consolidated Fund of the State to Personal Deposit Accounts during the year, with a substantial portion of the transfers made in the final month of the financial year.

The CAG also pointed out that ₹1,809.66 crore collected as cess during the year had not been transferred to the Public Account because the requisite reserve funds had not been created.