Manipur had the highest capital outlay as a share of total expenditure among states and Union Territories for which comparable data was available in 2024-25 Budget Estimates (BE), at 28.8 per cent, according to Business Standard’s India State Fiscal Health Tracker.
The tracker is based on the Reserve Bank of India’s 2025 Handbook of Statistics on Indian States and compares states and Union Territories across eight fiscal indicators.
In the ranking, Manipur was followed by Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at 23.8 per cent each, Gujarat at 23 per cent and Odisha at 22 per cent. At the other end were Punjab, Puducherry, Kerala, Delhi and Haryana.
What does capital outlay as a share of total expenditure tell us?
Capital outlay as a share of total expenditure measures the proportion of a state’s spending that goes towards creating or acquiring assets. These can include infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems and government buildings.
The measure is useful as it represents spending directed towards asset creation and can provide an indication of a state’s investment orientation. A higher ratio generally indicates a greater share of expenditure being directed towards asset creation. However, the ratio does not measure the quality, productivity or usefulness of the assets created.
How is capital outlay calculated?
The tracker expresses capital outlay as a ratio of capital outlay to total expenditure. This allows states with very different budget sizes to be compared on a common basis.
Total expenditure is calculated as revenue expenditure plus capital expenditure. Comparing absolute capital outlay in rupee terms would naturally favour larger states because they generally have larger economies and budgets.
Formula: Capital Outlay ÷ (Revenue Expenditure + Capital Expenditure) × 100
| Rank | State/UT | FY25 BE |
| 1 | Manipur | 28.8% |
| 2 | Sikkim | 23.8% |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 23.8% |
| 4 | Gujarat | 23.0% |
| 5 | Odisha | 22.0% |
The top five states had capital outlay ratios of at least 22 per cent, indicating that more than a fifth of their total expenditure was allocated to capital outlay in the FY25 Budget Estimates.
| Rank | State/UT | FY25 BE |
| 31 | Punjab | 3.8% |
| 30 | Puducherry | 6.1% |
| 29 | Kerala | 7.6% |
| 28 | Delhi | 7.8% |
| 27 | Haryana | 8.6% |
The gap between the two ends of the ranking was substantial: Manipur’s capital outlay ratio of 28.8 per cent was 25 percentage points higher than Punjab’s 3.8 per cent.
How should the ranking be read?
The ranking measures only capital outlay as a share of total expenditure and should not be interpreted as an overall ranking of state finances. A state can perform strongly on one fiscal indicator and poorly on another. The tracker separately ranks states on eight indicators, including fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, debt, guarantees, interest and pension burden, own revenue and capital outlay.
The figures for FY2024-25 are Budget Estimates rather than final accounts. Budget Estimates are the figures presented in state budgets and can differ from the eventual actual expenditure.
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