Karnataka Govt Borrowed ₹37,000 Cr More Than the Previous Year to Fund Guarantees: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India flagged rising borrowings in its State Finances Audit Report for 2022-23, released in August 2024. The report exposed how welfare guarantees pulled resources away from infrastructure and pushed the state deeper into debt.

Think of a family that borrows more every year only to pay daily bills. Repairs wait. Plans stall. This is how the Karnataka government looked in 2023-24, according to the CAG. The Karnataka government loan 2024 CAG report raised alarm on how loans have gone far beyond income growth.

The CAG findings on Karnataka's ₹37,000 crore loan showed a heavy tilt towards borrowings. These loans were not for building assets alone. They were used to fund free bus rides, subsidised power, food grains and allowances. The guarantees gave relief to families but raised doubt about the state’s fiscal health.

CAG Findings On Karnataka ₹37,000 Crore Loan And Its Fiscal Shock

The report revealed that Karnataka borrowed ₹63,000 crore in net market loans in 2023-24. This was Rs 37,000 crore loan more than last year Karnataka, when net borrowings were only ₹26,000 crore.

The mismatch in income and spending stood out. Revenue receipts grew only by 1.86 percent. But total expenditure shot up by 12.54 percent. This difference led to a revenue deficit of ₹9,271 crore. The year before, Karnataka had shown a surplus.

The fiscal deficit also widened. From ₹46,623 crore in 2022-23, it jumped to ₹65,522 crore in 2023-24. The CAG report on Karnataka government loan increase made clear that this rising gap could not be ignored.

Borrowings Trend
 

The sudden jump in borrowings reflected how guarantees and subsidies became central to spending patterns.

Karnataka Govt Financing Guarantees And Borrowings Hit Infrastructure

The report pointed out a trade-off. When guarantees were funded, asset creation suffered. Capital expenditure fell by about ₹5,229 crore in 2023-24.

This cut hit roads, irrigation, and housing projects. Incomplete projects rose by 68 percent within a year. From 1,864 unfinished works in 2022-23, the number jumped to 3,140 in 2023-24. Money worth ₹4,482 crore was locked in these incomplete projects.

The CAG warned that such delays would make costs rise in future. It also meant lost benefits for citizens.

The financial strain was visible in the numbers:
 

The state had entered a cycle where more borrowings were paying for routine bills, not for future growth.

The Burden Of Guarantee Schemes On Revenue

The CAG report on the Karnataka government loan increase highlighted five major welfare schemes. Together, they cost ₹36,537.96 crore. This was almost 15 percent of the revenue expenditure in 2023-24.

Gruha Lakshmi gave monthly aid to women heads of households. Gruha Jyoti subsidised power bills. Anna Bhagya offered free food grains. Shakti gave free bus travel to women. Yuva Nidhi gave allowances to jobless youth.

While these helped families cope with rising costs, their weight on the budget was heavy. Borrowing became the only option.

Low Returns From State Investments Add To Stress

The CAG also looked at how state-run enterprises fared. By March 2024, Karnataka had invested ₹73,487 crore in public corporations. Returns were only ₹290.74 crore.

This showed that these investments were not giving back resources to the exchequer. Poor returns added stress. Borrowings then became the main way to fund new promises.
 

The imbalance between investments and returns added another burden on state finances, making reliance on loans sharper.

Economic Growth with Weak Revenues

The report did not deny that Karnataka’s economy was growing. Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) rose by 13.10 percent in 2023-24. The compound annual growth rate was 11.84 percent over recent years.

But revenue receipts as a share of GSDP fell. From 10.09 percent in 2022-23, it dropped to 9.09 percent in 2023-24. This meant the government’s income did not match the growth of the economy.

The gap explained why the state leaned on borrowing. Growth was real, but income flow to the treasury was weak.

Conclusion

The Karnataka government loan 2024 CAG report was more than a set of numbers. It was a warning note. Borrowings had outpaced income. The CAG findings on Karnataka ₹37,000 crore loan showed how routine spending and welfare were being financed by debt.

The CAG report on Karnataka government loan increase showed that this path had already hurt infrastructure. Unfinished projects piled up. Deficits grew wide. Returns from state enterprises stayed weak.

Guarantees gave relief to households. But they also squeezed fiscal space. Unless Karnataka finds a balance between welfare and growth, the debt load will keep rising. The state has to choose carefully. Welfare cannot be ignored, but growth cannot be sacrificed either.

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