<h1>Committed salaries, pensions and interest rose 2.49x from FY2013-14 to FY2022-23, crowding out development spending</h1> A government audit report finds that committed state expenditure on salaries, pensions and interest rose 2.49 times from FY2013-14 to FY2022-23, reaching Rs 15,63,649 crore, while overall revenue expenditure rose 2.66 times. In FY2022-23 revenue expenditure comprised about 84.7% of total expenditure and 13.85% of combined GSDP; committed expenditure, subsidies and grants-in-aid together exceeded 83% of revenue outlays. Salaries were the largest committed component, with interest payments exceeding pensions in several states, indicating higher debt-servicing burdens. Fiscal targets varied: a plurality aimed for revenue surplus, some targeted deficits, and a subset of deficit states received central revenue-deficit grants.