The state is the recipient of the largest share of grant as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission in the period ranging from 2020-21 to 2025-26 among all states, as per a statement submitted by the state finance department in the assembly.
The figures also point towards the need for the state to exercise more financial discipline and increase its non-tax revenue, the eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of grant for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26 was decided by the 15th finance commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state, after considering the assessed devolution during this period.
As per the statement by finance ministerKN Balagopalbefore the assembly, the state has been granted Rs 53,137 crore as revenue deficit grant on the recommendations of the commission, which is the highest when compared to other 16 states which have got the grant.
The state’s main committed expenditure include salaries, pensions and interest payments on loans and the revision of the salaries and pensions on the basis of the recommendations of the 11th pay commission alone has caused an additional burden of Rs 15,000 crore annually to the state. At the same time, to bridge the gap of revenue deficit, state’s revenue generation has to improve correspondingly, that also has not been happening.