This Report on State Finances for the year ended March 2016 has been prepared for submission to the Governor of West Bengal under Article 151 of the Constitution of India. The Reports containing the findings of performance audit and audit of transactions in various departments and observations arising out of audit of Statutory Corporations, Boards and Government Companies and the Report containing observations on Revenue Receipts are presented separately.
Based on the audited accounts of the Government of West Bengal for the year 2015-16, this report provides an analytical review of the annual accounts of the State Government. The financial performance of the State has been assessed based on the budget documents, Economic Review 2015-16, Fourteenth Finance Commission Report and other financial data obtained from various Government departments and organisations. The report is structured in three chapters.
Chapter 1 is based on the audit of Finance Accounts and makes an assessment of West Bengal Government’s fiscal position as on 31 March 2016. It, inter-alia, provides an insight into the public finances of the State including trends in receipts, expenditure and borrowing by the State Government. Chapter 2 is based on Appropriation Accounts and describes appropriations and the manner in which the allocated resources were managed by the various Departments. Chapter 3 is an inventory of Government’s compliance with various reporting requirements and financial rules.
Fiscal position of the State: Revenue receipts of the Government grew at a rate of 26.84 per cent over the previous year, while the corresponding growth of revenue expenditure was 14.64 per cent. During the year, revenue receipts were ` 109732 crore against revenue expenditure of ` 118827 crore, resulting in a revenue deficit of ` 9095 crore. The revenue deficit was 0.87 per cent of GSDP against the Fourteenth FC target of zero. The fiscal deficit during 2015-16 stood at ` 20891 crore which was 2.01 per cent of GSDP against the Medium Term Fiscal Policy target of 2.68 per cent.