This study analyses the trend and impact of public expenditure on education and health in Karnataka and its implications for human development during the period 2014–15 to 2023–24. The research is based on secondary data collected from official sources such as Government of Karnataka budget documents, Economic Surveys, Reserve Bank of India reports, and NITI Aayog publications. A quantitative and analytical approach is adopted, using statistical tools including descriptive statistics, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), correlation, and linear regression.

The findings indicate a steady increase in public expenditure, with education expenditure rising from ₹18,500 crore to ₹33,000 crore, recording a CAGR of 6.63%, while health expenditure increased from ₹8,200 crore to ₹19,750 crore with a higher CAGR of 10.27%. The share of social sector expenditure also grew from 24.5% to 31.5%, reflecting a policy shift toward human development. ANOVA results show significant variation in expenditure across years (F = 18.72 for education and 24.95 for health, p < 0.05). Regression analysis reveals that education (β = 0.62, R² = 0.58) and health expenditure (β = 0.74, R² = 0.65) have a statistically significant positive impact on HDI, with health expenditure exerting a stronger influence.