Introduction & Methodology

This report analyses public expenditure trends across selected Indian states (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha) using macro-fiscal data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) State Finances, GSDP data from MoSPI and school education statistics from UDISE+.

Budget Accounting Definitions

Revenue Expenditure (RevEx): Government spending on recurring operational costs (salaries, maintenance, administrative expenses).
Capital Expenditure (CapEx): Investment in permanent physical asset creation (school buildings, labs, infrastructure).
Developmental Expenditure (DevEx): Expenditure directly targeted at social and economic service delivery.
Non-Developmental Expenditure (Non-DevEx): Spending on general administrative overhead and statutory functions.

State at a Glance: Macro-Economic Overview



Table: State at a Glance: Latest Common Year (2024-25)

|State       |Year    |Estimate status | Constant GSDP (Rs. crore)| Current GSDP (Rs. crore)| Per-capita GSDP (Rs.)| Real YoY growth (%)| Nominal YoY growth (%)|
|:-----------|:-------|:---------------|-------------------------:|------------------------:|---------------------:|-------------------:|----------------------:|
|Karnataka   |2024-25 |N/A             |                    15,942|                   29,061|               421,858|                 7.3|                   12.0|
|Tamil Nadu  |2024-25 |N/A             |                    17,322|                   31,186|               403,847|                11.2|                   16.0|
|Maharashtra |2024-25 |N/A             |                    26,714|                   46,221|               354,224|                 7.3|                   12.2|
|Odisha      |2024-25 |N/A             |                     5,323|                    9,031|               190,439|                 7.2|                   10.0|

Expenditure Analysis

Between States: Expenditure as a Percentage of GSDP


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Within States: Expenditure as a Percentage of GSDP

Within States: Sectoral Expenditure as a Percentage of total State Expenditure


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Between States: Sectoral Expenditure as a Percentage of Total State Expenditure

Sectoral Expenditure as a Percentage of GSDP and Total State Expenditure

UDISE - Expenditure Analysis

FY 2023-24 Analysis

FY 2023-24 Deep Dive: Education Budget Composition

FY 2023-24: Revenue vs Capital Expenditure in Education
State	Total Edu Exp (Cr)	RevEx (Cr)	CapEx (Cr)	% RevEx	% CapEx
Karnataka	33926.44	32725.35	1201.0864	96.5	3.5
Maharashtra	92115.81	91647.53	468.2817	99.5	0.5
Odisha	27284.78	26042.51	1242.2764	95.4	4.6
Tamil Nadu	47222.56	46213.01	1009.5498	97.9	2.1

Table Insights

Key Takeaway: As seen in the table above, the overwhelming majority of education expenditure across all states is allocated to Revenue Expenditure (salaries and operational costs), leaving a very small fraction for Capital Expenditure (infrastructure).

Plot Analysis

Infrastructure Gap: The visual heavily emphasizes the gap in asset creation. States are spending upwards of 95% of their budgets just to keep the system running, which constrains their ability to build new schools, labs, and digital infrastructure.

FY 2023-24: Overall State Budgets (Revenue vs. Capital)
State	Total Exp (Cr)	RevEx (Cr)	CapEx (Cr)	% RevEx	% CapEx
Karnataka	321,660.0	242,614.4	79,045.55	75.4	24.6
Maharashtra	562,714.8	444,350.5	118,364.39	79.0	21.0
Odisha	204,130.3	148,831.8	55,298.54	72.9	27.1
Tamil Nadu	402,627.9	309,717.8	92,910.10	76.9	23.1

Macro Budget Insights

State Priorities: This table highlights the overall fiscal strategy of each state. A higher % CapEx generally indicates a stronger focus on long-term asset creation and infrastructure development across the entire state economy.

FY 2023-24: Education Sector Budgets
State	Edu Total Exp (Cr)	Edu RevEx (Cr)	Edu CapEx (Cr)	% Edu RevEx	% Edu CapEx
Karnataka	33,926.44	32,725.35	1,201.0864	96.5	3.5
Maharashtra	92,115.81	91,647.53	468.2817	99.5	0.5
Odisha	27,284.78	26,042.51	1,242.2764	95.4	4.6
Tamil Nadu	47,222.56	46,213.01	1,009.5498	97.9	2.1

Education Infrastructure Gap

Asset Creation Benchmark: The red dashed line represents the average capital expenditure across the selected states. States falling below this line are spending a disproportionate amount of their education budget on routine operations rather than building new schools, classrooms, and digital labs.

FY 2023-24: UDISE+ System Size Overview
State	Total Schools	Total Enrolment	Total Teachers
Karnataka	75,869	11,900,000	434,000
Maharashtra	108,237	21,375,970	738,114
Odisha	61,693	7,756,910	335,496
Tamil Nadu	58,722	13,000,000	551,000

Scale of Operations

System Context: These absolute figures ground the fiscal data in reality. A state might have a massive education budget, but if its enrolment figures are significantly higher than its peers, the per-student spending could actually be quite low.

FY 2023-24: Comprehensive Social Sector Overview
State	Edu (Cr)	Edu % GSDP	Edu % TE	Health (Cr)	Health % GSDP	Health % TE	Nut (Cr)	Nut % GSDP	Nut % TE
Karnataka	33,926.44	1.31	10.5	13,351.69	0.51	4.2	2,658.414	0.103	0.83
Maharashtra	92,115.81	2.24	16.4	24,139.41	0.59	4.3	4,637.246	0.113	0.82
Odisha	27,284.78	3.32	13.4	15,913.58	1.94	7.8	1,110.072	0.135	0.54
Tamil Nadu	47,222.56	1.76	11.7	17,772.98	0.66	4.4	4,871.578	0.181	1.21

Sectoral Prioritization

Budgetary Crowding: By viewing these three sectors alongside their share of Total Expenditure (TE) and GSDP, we can observe if states prioritizing Education are simultaneously pulling resources away from Health or Nutrition, or if they are expanding the overall social sector footprint.