Share of social sector in total expenditure slackens off in Rajasthan

The share of social sector expenditure as a share of gross state domestic product increased marginally from 9% in FY20 to 10% in FY24 BE

Social services account for sectors except for rural development and food security, which are reported under economic services in state Budgets.
 

In the past few years, the share of the social sector in total expenditure has been declining in Rajasthan.
 

In 2019–20 (FY20) and 2020–21 (FY21), social sector expenditure as a share of total expenditure accounted for 41 per cent. It, however, declined to 39 per cent in the second year of the pandemic (2021-22). In 2022–23 (FY23) Revised Estimates, it stood at 37 per cent, which is 4 percentage points (ppt) lower than FY20’s. For 2023–24 (FY24) Budget Estimates (BE), it is estimated to be 39 per cent of total expenditure.

 

The share of social sector expenditure as a share of gross state domestic product increased marginally from 9 per cent in FY20 to 10 per cent in FY24 BE.
 

In terms of the share of social sector expenditure across different components, education and arts and culture account for more than one-third of the social sector expenditure.
 

The other priority areas between FY20 and FY24 BE have been rural development, which averaged about 16 per cent of total expenditure between FY20 and FY23 BE; water supply, sanitation, and housing and urban development, which averaged 15 per cent. Health and family welfare, social security, and nutrition accounted for 14 per cent during the same period.
 

The contribution of health and rural development to total social sector expenditure declined during the first year of the pandemic (FY21) by 1 ppt and 2 ppt, respectively, from FY20.

 

Source: Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research