West Bengal Budget & State Finances
Revenue sources, expenditure patterns, fiscal deficits, and debt status of West Bengal state government.
West Bengal spent more than it raised in every year from 2019-20 to 2025-26. More of its revenue comes from the Centre than from its own taxes, and capital spending is 7-12% of the budget. Interest is the largest single item of revenue spending, ahead of education.
Key figures & data tables
West Bengal budgeted revenue receipts of ₹2,66,060 crore in 2025-26: ₹1,12,544 crore of own tax revenue, ₹9,360 crore non-tax, and ₹1,44,156 crore in central transfers. Own tax revenue is 42.3% of the state’s revenue, against 49.7% across all states.
Spending is ₹3,40,713 crore: ₹3,01,375 crore of revenue expenditure and ₹39,338 crore of capital outlay, 11.5% of the total.
The fiscal deficit is 3.6% of GSDP and the revenue deficit 1.7%, against 3.1% and 1.7% in 2019-20. Outstanding debt stands at 38.9% of GSDP (from 37.8% in 2019-20). The three largest heads of revenue spending in 2023-24 were Interest payments (₹42,621 crore, 18.9%), Education (₹38,628 crore, 17.1%), Social security & welfare (₹27,978 crore, 12.4%).
Outstanding liabilities were ₹6,55,975 crore at end-March 2024, 72.7% of it in market loans. In 2022-23, 4 sectors spent less than 85% of their budget estimate, as they also did in 2021-22: Housing; Rural Development; Welfare of SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities; Agriculture and Allied Activities. 28.4% of the state’s outstanding bonds fall due after 2040, against 17.1% for all states. The sinking fund held ₹13,993 crore on March 31, 2025, 1.9% of liabilities.
Lakshmir Bhandar, the monthly cash transfer to women, was budgeted ₹26,700 crore in 2025-26 (PRS). From 2026-27 it was replaced by Annapurna Bhandar, ₹3,000 a month to eligible women, with ₹36,000 crore budgeted. By December 2025 the state reported spending since launch of ₹74,000 crore on Lakshmir Bhandar (2.21 crore women), ₹16,554 crore on Kanyashree Prakalpa (almost 1 crore girls), ₹4,903 crore on Sabuj Sathi (over 1.44 crore students), ₹5,559 crore on Rupashree Prakalpa (22.02 lakh women), ₹27,016 crore on Krishak Bandhu (over 1.10 crore farmers).
The rows behind the charts above — 10 tables
›West Bengal revenue receipts by source (₹ crore)(7 rows)
Source: RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25 (2019-20 to 2022-23); RBI State Finances 2025-26 (2023-24 onward). 2024-25 is RE, 2025-26 BE.
| Year | Status | Own tax | Own non-tax | Central transfers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Accounts | 60,669 | 3,213 | 79,032 | 1,42,914 |
| 2020-21 | Accounts | 60,287 | 5,198 | 82,909 | 1,48,394 |
| 2021-22 | Accounts | 71,082 | 1,690 | 1,05,388 | 1,78,160 |
| 2022-23 | Accounts | 83,609 | 2,197 | 1,09,738 | 1,95,544 |
| 2023-24 | Accounts | 89,986 | 3,238 | 1,07,044 | 2,00,268 |
| 2024-25 | Revised Estimates | 99,863 | 3,286 | 1,24,441 | 2,27,591 |
| 2025-26 | Budget Estimates | 1,12,544 | 9,360 | 1,44,156 | 2,66,060 |
›West Bengal expenditure: revenue vs capital outlay (₹ crore)(7 rows)
| Year | Status | Revenue expenditure | Capital outlay | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Accounts | 1,62,575 | 15,971 | 1,78,546 |
| 2020-21 | Accounts | 1,77,921 | 13,034 | 1,90,955 |
| 2021-22 | Accounts | 2,10,160 | 17,484 | 2,27,644 |
| 2022-23 | Accounts | 2,22,839 | 22,009 | 2,44,848 |
| 2023-24 | Accounts | 2,25,960 | 28,963 | 2,54,923 |
| 2024-25 | Revised Estimates | 2,70,852 | 29,147 | 3,00,000 |
| 2025-26 | Budget Estimates | 3,01,375 | 39,338 | 3,40,713 |
›West Bengal revenue expenditure by function(11 rows)
Source: RBI State Finances 2025-26, Appendix II. Excludes capital outlay.
| Function | ₹ crore | Share of revenue expenditure (%) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest payments | 42,621 | 18.9 | 2023-24 |
| Education | 38,628 | 17.1 | 2023-24 |
| Social security & welfare | 27,978 | 12.4 | 2023-24 |
| Pensions | 24,360 | 10.8 | 2023-24 |
| Everything else | 23,340 | 10.3 | 2023-24 |
| Agriculture & allied | 16,371 | 7.2 | 2023-24 |
| Health & family welfare | 15,880 | 7 | 2023-24 |
| Rural development | 13,201 | 5.8 | 2023-24 |
| Police | 9,991 | 4.4 | 2023-24 |
| Urban development | 9,123 | 4 | 2023-24 |
| SC/ST/OBC welfare | 4,466 | 2 | 2023-24 |
›West Bengal fiscal indicators: deficit and debt (% of GSDP)(7 rows)
Debt is outstanding liabilities at end-March (RBI State Finances Statement 20). Deficit ratios use the same GSDP.
| Year | Status | Fiscal deficit (%) | Revenue deficit (%) | Debt to GSDP (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Accounts | 3.1 | 1.7 | 37.8 |
| 2020-21 | Accounts | 3.9 | 2.6 | 43.6 |
| 2021-22 | Accounts | 3.8 | 2.4 | 40.9 |
| 2022-23 | Accounts | 3.3 | 1.8 | 39.5 |
| 2023-24 | Accounts | 3.3 | 1.6 | 39.7 |
| 2024-25 | Revised Estimates | 4 | 2.4 | 40 |
| 2025-26 | Budget Estimates | 3.6 | 1.7 | 38.9 |
›West Bengal vs all states: own-tax share of revenue(1 rows)
Source: RBI State Finances 2025-26, Appendix I and Table II.2.
| Metric | West Bengal | All states | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own tax share of revenue | 42.3 | 49.7 | % of revenue receipts (2025-26 BE; India = all states and UTs) |
›West Bengal actual spending vs budget estimate by sector, 2022-23 and 2021-22 (₹ crore)(13 rows)
Source: PRS India, West Bengal Budget Analysis 2024-25 and PRS India, West Bengal Budget Analysis 2023-24 (budget estimate vs actuals tables). Utilisation = actual spending / budget estimate for the same year, as tabulated by PRS from state budget documents. Above 100% means the department spent more than first budgeted (money added during the year).
| Sector | BE 2022-23 | Actuals 2022-23 | % of BE 2022-23 | BE 2021-22 | Actuals 2021-22 | % of BE 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | 505 | 262 | 51.9 | 447 | 236 | 52.8 |
| Rural Development | 22,236 | 12,065 | 54.3 | 20,053 | 14,963 | 74.6 |
| Irrigation and Flood Control | 5,321 | 3,581 | 67.3 | 3,792 | 3,223 | 85 |
| Welfare of SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities | 6,581 | 4,890 | 74.3 | 5,966 | 4,351 | 72.9 |
| Agriculture and Allied Activities | 12,709 | 9,772 | 76.9 | 12,936 | 8,553 | 66.1 |
| Transport | 6,843 | 6,376 | 93.2 | 6,878 | 5,823 | 84.7 |
| Police | 10,410 | 9,707 | 93.2 | 9,503 | 9,541 | 100.4 |
| Health and Family Welfare | 17,786 | 16,858 | 94.8 | 16,576 | 16,768 | 101.2 |
| Education, Sports, Arts, and Culture | 43,466 | 41,516 | 95.5 | 43,195 | 37,682 | 87.2 |
| Water Supply and Sanitation | 3,835 | 3,806 | 99.2 | 3,578 | 5,135 | 143.5 |
| Social Welfare and Nutrition | 36,448 | 42,685 | 117.1 | 37,868 | 34,873 | 92.1 |
| Energy | 2,818 | 3,324 | 118 | 2,616 | 2,898 | 110.8 |
| Urban Development | 11,606 | 14,567 | 125.5 | 11,320 | 9,983 | 88.2 |
›West Bengal flagship schemes: budget estimates by year (₹ crore)(6 rows)
Source: PRS Legislative Research, West Bengal Budget Analyses 2021-22 to 2026-27 (budget estimates); Government of West Bengal Report Card, Dec 2025 (reach and cumulative spending). Allocations are budget estimates as quoted by PRS from state budget documents. PRS does not quote every scheme every year; years it does not quote are left blank. No year's allocation for Sabuj Sathi or Rupashree was found in a PRS analysis. Beneficiary counts and spending since launch are as stated by the state government in its December 2025 Report Card and have not been audited.
| Scheme | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakshmir Bhandar | 14,400 | 26,700 | |||
| Kanyashree Prakalpa | 1,648 | ||||
| Sabuj Sathi | |||||
| Rupashree Prakalpa | |||||
| Krishak Bandhu | 5,507 | 4,994 | 5,800 | 5,782 | 4,625 |
| Annapurna Bhandar | 36,000 |
›West Bengal flagship schemes: reach and spending since launch(5 rows)
Source: Government of West Bengal, Report Card (wb.gov.in, December 2025). As stated by the state government; not audited.
| Scheme | Benefit | Reach | ₹ crore spent since launch | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakshmir Bhandar | Monthly cash transfer to women aged 25 to 60. ₹500 a month (₹1,000 for SC/ST women) when it began in 2021-22; raised to ₹1,000 (₹1,200 for SC/ST women) in the 2024-25 budget; ₹1,500 to ₹1,700 a month by 2025-26. | 2.21 crore women | 74,000 | December 2025 |
| Kanyashree Prakalpa | Financial support to girls for their education. | almost 1 crore girls | 16,554 | December 2025 |
| Sabuj Sathi | Bicycles for school students. | over 1.44 crore students | 4,903 | December 2025 |
| Rupashree Prakalpa | One-time grant of ₹25,000 for a woman's marriage. | 22.02 lakh women | 5,559 | December 2025 |
| Krishak Bandhu | Cash support to farmers of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 per acre under the New Krishak Bandhu scheme (from 2021-22), and a one-time ₹2 lakh grant to the family if a farmer aged 18 to 60 dies. | over 1.10 crore farmers | 27,016 | December 2025 |
›West Bengal outstanding liabilities by instrument, end-March (₹ crore)(9 rows)
Source: RBI State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2025-26, Statement 18. 2024 is Accounts, 2025 Revised Estimates, 2026 Budget Estimates.
| Instrument | 2024 | % 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | % 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market loans (State Govt Securities) | 4,77,042 | 72.7 | 5,31,642 | 5,89,614 | 74.6 |
| Deposits and advances | 53,892 | 8.2 | 55,949 | 55,749 | 7.1 |
| Small Savings Fund (NSSF) loans | 37,976 | 5.8 | 31,636 | 26,276 | 3.3 |
| Loans from the Centre | 33,561 | 5.1 | 47,072 | 56,312 | 7.1 |
| State provident funds | 23,872 | 3.6 | 26,068 | 27,900 | 3.5 |
| Reserve funds | 21,103 | 3.2 | 22,654 | 23,122 | 2.9 |
| Loans from banks and institutions | 8,379 | 1.3 | 9,876 | 11,063 | 1.4 |
| Other (compensation bonds, contingency fund) | 149 | 0 | 202 | 202 | 0 |
| Total | 6,55,975 | 100 | 7,25,099 | 7,90,238 | 100 |
›West Bengal state bonds by repayment period vs all states (as of March 31, 2025)(4 rows)
Source: RBI State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2025-26, Statements 23 and 24. Outstanding state government securities by year of repayment. RBI excludes compensation bonds, special bonds and non-interest-bearing loans from this table.
| Repayment period | West Bengal (₹ crore) | West Bengal (%) | All states (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Due 2025-26 to 2029-30 | 1,40,142 | 26.4 | 33.3 |
| 2030-31 to 2034-35 | 1,10,410 | 20.8 | 32.9 |
| 2035-36 to 2039-40 | 1,30,180 | 24.5 | 16.6 |
| 2040-41 to 2063-64 | 1,50,910 | 28.4 | 17.1 |