By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: Assam and Mizoram ended 2024-25 with revenue deficits despite budgeting for surpluses, while Manipur and Tripura recorded revenue surpluses, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General‘s (CAG) latest State Finances 2024-25 report.
The report noted that 13 states across the country posted revenue surpluses during the financial year, while 15 states recorded revenue deficits.
Among the Northeastern states, Manipur remained in revenue surplus, while Tripura exceeded its target of a zero-revenue deficit and closed the year with a surplus.
Assam and Mizoram, however, were among nine states that had projected revenue surpluses but ultimately slipped into deficit. The other states in the category were Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana.
Mizoram was also among four states that received Finance Commission revenue deficit grants during the year, along with Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal.
The report highlighted growing fiscal pressures in the region, with Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura recording a substantial increase in fiscal deficits compared to 2023-24.
At the national level, 18 of the 28 states exceeded the indicative fiscal deficit ceiling of 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission. The combined revenue deficit of the 15 deficit states stood at Rs 3.46 lakh crore, while the net revenue deficit across all states was Rs 2.19 lakh crore.
The report further noted that salaries, pensions and interest payments continued to account for a large share of state expenditure. Nagaland recorded the highest committed expenditure ratio among all states at 74 per cent of revenue expenditure.
As of March 31, 2025, the total liabilities of all states stood at Rs 90.51 lakh crore. The CAG observed that states collectively have remained in fiscal deficit throughout the past decade, with renewed fiscal stress emerging in several regions, including parts of the Northeast, during FY25.