The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has, for the first time, released a decade-long report on the financial position of states, which reveals that in the 2022-23 fiscal year, 16 states recorded a Revenue Surplus. At the top of the list was Uttar Pradesh, with a revenue surplus of ₹37,000 crore, followed by Gujarat (₹19,865 crore), Odisha (₹19,456 crore), Jharkhand (₹13,564 crore), Karnataka (₹13,496 crore), Chhattisgarh (₹8,592 crore), Telangana (₹5,944 crore), Uttarakhand (₹5,310 crore), Madhya Pradesh (₹4,091 crore), and Goa (₹2,399 crore). The northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim were also in the revenue surplus category, with at least 10 of these states being BJP-ruled.

The report also reveals that 12 states recorded a Revenue Deficit. These include Andhra Pradesh (-₹43,488 crore), Tamil Nadu (-₹36,215 crore), Rajasthan (-₹31,491 crore), West Bengal (-₹27,295 crore), Punjab (-₹26,045 crore), Haryana (-₹17,212 crore), Assam (-₹12,072 crore), Bihar (-₹11,288 crore), Kerala (-₹9,226 crore), Himachal Pradesh (-₹6,336 crore), Maharashtra (-₹1,936 crore), and Meghalaya (-₹44 crore).

The report makes it clear that some states were in revenue surplus due to sound financial management, with controlled expenditure. In contrast, the main reasons for deficit in other states were high expenditure, subsidies, and debt repayments. This new decade-long report by the CAG will help ensure greater transparency, clarity, and accountability in the financial management of states in the future.