StatsGuru: States' pension burden overtook interest payments in 2022-23

CAG report shows pensions overtook interest costs in FY23 as states spent 43% of revenue on committed expenditure, including salaries, pensions, and debt servicing

Amid a debate on three variants of the pension system – old, new and unified – total payments of states under this head exceeded interest outgo for the first time in at least five years in 2022-23. As much as 43 per cent of revenue expenditure of states went to committed spend, which also includes salaries that year, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). 

The committed expenditure recorded a 9.37 per cent increase in 2022-23 year-on-year, reaching Rs 15.64 trillion. This has been more or less a trend, except for the Covid-hit year