West Bengal tops in revenue spending growth

Kolkata: West Bengal has managed to keep its revenue expenditure growth under tight control in the first eight months of the 2025-26 fiscal, even as several states grappled with elevated spending pressure, according to a report by CareEdge Ratings on states' April-November finances.The eastern state's revenue expenditure rose by just 3.8 per cent year-on-year, a sharp moderation from the 16.1-per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, as per the agency's analysis.West Bengal accounted for 6.2 per cent of the aggregate revenue expenditure of the 22 states analysed, indicating a relatively restrained spending profile.The state did not feature among the ones flagged for worrisome fiscal trajectory in the report, unlike Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, which have already exhausted a large portion of their budgeted fiscal deficit during the period.However, the report also pointed to weakness on the capital expenditure front.West Bengal's capital spending contracted by 35.1 per cent year-on-year during April-November, deeper than the 13.0 per cent decline seen in the same period last year.The state's share in aggregate capital expenditure among the 22 states stood at 2.1 per cent, placing it among the lower contributors to overall state capex.West Bengal was among a group of states, including Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jharkhand, where capital expenditure growth remained in negative territory in both FY'25 and FY'26 so far.