State Finances

High revenue deficit tells us that the governments borrow from the markets just to meet their current expenditure and do not generate assets

Widening deficits force states to rationalise and cut back outlays, reduce beneficiaries

Revenue gaps and structural spending imbalances weigh on their finances, squeezing crucial infrastructure growth

Devolved funds and tailored welfare schemes empower grassroots development, lifting poor families and driving rural equality

West Bengal led social welfare and nutrition outlay at 14.86 per cent of its budget

Regions trailing in own tax revenue remain heavily dependent on central funds as the fiscal divide widens

While aggregate finances remain stable, high debt and welfare handouts weigh on some budgets

Unlike its three predecessors, the Sixteenth Finance Commission has not published state-wise GSDP projections for 2026-31, citing the absence of revenue deficit grants

The spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is Newsom's last as governor and comes as state finances are buoyed by an artificial intelligence boom fueled by home-state companies

Twenty states utilised 5.86 per cent of their FY27 capex budgets in April-May, below the year-ago pace, though spending recovered in May after a sluggish April

Today's opinions examine monsoon uncertainty, RBI's NBFC framework, worsening state finances, Donald Trump's economic approach and the future of modern feminism

On the utilisation of available resources, stress in state finances can be reflected in the extent to which states are utilising their fiscal deficit to finance the revenue deficit

Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar saw revenue balances weaken between FY23 and FY25 as spending outpaced receipts: CAG

The TVK government's white paper said Tamil Nadu added Rs 4.87 trillion in debt over five years, while total liabilities, including guarantees and off-budget borrowings, reached Rs 13.8 trillion

The CAG's review of state finances showed 18 states exceeded the 3 per cent fiscal deficit ceiling in FY25, while combined state liabilities continued to rise over the decade

State debt and deficits do not capture the damage that doles inflict on the quality of public spending

ICRA says states increased use of the RBI's Special Drawing Facility in FY26, while reliance on Ways and Means Advances and overdraft facilities fell to five-year lows

From Bharti Airtel's succession planning and AI-driven cyber risks to the economic fallout of the West Asia conflict and India's investment needs - here are today's top opinion pieces

As cash-transfer politics becomes embedded in elections, the bigger challenge for states may lie not in announcing welfare promises, but in sustaining them fiscally

Welfare promises dominate politics even as several states face rising fiscal stress and uneven economic capacity