NEW DELHI: Five of the six states that went to the polls recently had earmarked huge amounts for subsidies, according to statistics released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
In 2023-24 with four months left for the full fiscal to get over, Chattisgarh had a Budget allocation of Rs 35,238 crore on subsidies. The state was slightly less profligate in the previous fiscal of 2022-23 when it spent Rs 31,050 crore.
Karnataka had reserved a whopping Rs 45,402 crore on subsidies in 2023-24 as against its actual spending of Rs 30,800 crore on subsidies in 2022-23.
Madhya Pradesh had set aside Rs 27,896 crore in subsidies in 2023-24 as against Rs 31,834 crore in the previous fiscal. Rajasthan had budgeted Rs 25,649 crore in 2023-24 as against Rs 25,579 crore in the previous fiscal while Telangana spent Rs 16,198 crore in 2023-24.
Even without elections, Gujarat and Punjab spend heavily on subsidies. Gujarat was one of the top disbursers of subsidies and allocated Rs 30,000 crore for 2023-24. Last year too, it had spent Rs 25,000 crore on subsidies. Punjab budgeted Rs 20,500 crore on subsidies in 2023-24 and disbursed Rs 20,751 crore in the previous fiscal.