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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
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Paper ID:
IJSREM66985
Volume:
10 |
8 |
Aug 2026
Pages:
1--
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
University Department of Commerce & Business Management
Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag
University Department of Commerce & Business Management
Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag
The State budget is a fundamental instrument of public financial management through which government priorities are translated into financial provisions and expenditure programmes. However, the effectiveness of a budget cannot be assessed solely by the magnitude of allocations. The correspondence between Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure (AE) provides important evidence regarding budget credibility, expenditure utilisation and implementation performance. The present study critically evaluates the budgetary performance of Jharkhand during the three financial years 2022–23 to 2024–25, with particular emphasis on total expenditure, revenue expenditure and capital expenditure. The study is based on secondary data compiled from the Budget-at-a-Glance documents of the Government of Jharkhand and supplemented, for contextual interpretation, by reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and relevant literature on fiscal marksmanship. Percentage variance, budget utilisation ratio, revised-estimate utilisation ratio and expenditure composition ratios are employed to assess budgetary performance. The findings indicate that aggregate utilisation of the original budget remained around 91–93 per cent during the study period. However, the aggregate position conceals a substantial difference between revenue and capital expenditure. Revenue expenditure utilisation improved consistently from 87.42 per cent in 2022–23 to 94.14 per cent in 2024–25, whereas capital expenditure utilisation declined from 100.52 per cent to 82.13 per cent over the same period. The study therefore finds that overall budget utilisation alone does not provide a sufficient measure of budgetary performance. The increasing gap in capital expenditure during 2024–25 requires particular attention because capital expenditure is closely associated with public asset creation and productive investment. The study concludes that greater realism in capital expenditure estimates, improved project implementation, periodic expenditure monitoring and stronger linkage between financial allocations and outcomes are required to improve the budgetary performance of Jharkhand.
KEYWORDS
The study examined the budgetary performance of Jharkhand during 2022–23 to 2024–25 by comparing Budget Estimates, Revised Estimates and Actual Expenditure. The analysis demonstrates that aggregate budget utilisation remained relatively stable, ranging from approximately 90.64 per cent to 92.70 per cent. However, this aggregate stability conceals significant differences between revenue and capital expenditure. Revenue expenditure showed a consistent improvement in utilisation, increasing from 87.42 per cent in 2022–23 to 94.14 per cent in 2024–25. Capital expenditure showed a contrasting trend, with utilisation declining from 100.52 per cent to 82.13 per cent. The principal conclusion is therefore that Jharkhand's budgetary performance cannot be adequately assessed through aggregate budget utilisation alone. A more meaningful assessment requires examination of expenditure composition and implementation, particularly the distinction between revenue and capital expenditure. From the perspective of the broader PhD research agenda—“Performance Evaluation of Budgetary Provisions of Jharkhand State towards Growth of the State: A Critical Study since 2015”—the present study provides a focused empirical component dealing with budget implementation performance. Future research can extend the analysis by examining whether variations in capital and developmental expenditure are associated with changes in GSDP, sectoral growth, employment, infrastructure and human-development indicators.
1. Chakraborty, L. S., Chakraborty, P., & Shrestha, R. (2019). Budget credibility of subnational governments: Analyzing the fiscal forecasting errors of 28 states in India. NIPFP Working Paper No. 280. 2. Chakraborty, L. S., Chakraborty, P., & Shrestha, R. (2020). Budget credibility of subnational governments: Analyzing the fiscal forecasting errors of 28 states in India. Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Working Paper No. 964. 3. Chakraborty, L. S., Chakraborty, P., & Shrestha, R. (2024). Public financial management and budget credibility: Analysing subnational fiscal marksmanship in India. In Fiscal Policy and Public Financial Management. Oxford University Press. 4. Comptroller and Auditor General of India. (2024). State Finances Audit Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended 31 March 2023: Government of Jharkhand, Report No. 4 of 2024. 5. Comptroller and Auditor General of India. (2025). State Finances Audit Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year 2023–24: Government of Jharkhand, Report No. 2 of 2025. 6. Comptroller and Auditor General of India. (2026). State Accounts Reports: Government of Jharkhand. 7. Government of Jharkhand, Finance Department. (2022–2026). Budget Documents/Budget-at-a-Glance. 8. James, K., & Saha, D. (2022). A study of the fiscal marksmanship of capital expenditure among Indian State Governments. Centre for Social and Economic Progress Working Paper No. 33. 9. PRS Legislative Research. (2022). State of State Finances: 2022–23. 10. Reserve Bank of India. (2023). State finances: A study of budgets of 2022–23. 11. Reserve Bank of India. (2025). State finances: A study of budgets. 12. Srinivasan, S., & Misra, P. (2021). Grants from Centre and States' fiscal marksmanship. Indian Public Policy Review, 2(1).
Publication Date
8/27/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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