State Finances

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

Crisil says expanding cash transfer schemes are supporting low-income households, but rising state borrowing and fiscal pressures could challenge their long-term sustainability

Audit flags over Rs 5,000 crore unpaid PSU dividends and weak budget utilisation, raising concerns over fiscal oversight and revenue mobilisation in Odisha

The 16th Finance Commission throws up a transition challenge for states facing strict fiscal limits

While the 16th FC has set a new record in allotting funds for ULGs, its counterparts in states continue to struggle. Archis Mohan writes

More than Rs 43,000 crore remains unutilised in states' SNA accounts under major centrally sponsored schemes, even as Budget sharply raises allocations for education, water and nutrition programmes

A World Bank report to the 16th Finance Commission says state fiscal rules improved headline deficits, but debt levels remain high and uneven across several large states

Economists warn that removal of revenue deficit grants could hurt fiscally weak and hill states, forcing them to seek alternative support from the Centre

Opposition parties, including ruling dispensations in poll-bound West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, said the Budget fails on economic strategy, worsens fiscal stress on states, and undermines federalism

CAG data show states spent just 45.8% of their FY26 capital outlay in the first nine months, sharply lagging the Centre's capex performance

Economic Survey warns that rising state-level freebies and revenue deficits could raise India's borrowing costs by crowding out capex and weakening fiscal discipline

Nationally, the working-age population is expected to peak around 2031, but several states have already crossed that point

An optimal state policy must go beyond a revenue-hungry, punitive regulatory regime

As the Centre reviews hundreds of schemes, the push to rationalise spending could reshape fiscal federalism, ease pressure on states, and improve the efficiency of public expenditure

Weak tax collections in October pushed Bihar's fiscal deficit to three times the FY26 budget estimate in seven months, with pre-poll spending adding pressure

Cash transfers to women need a wider debate

Cities are crumbling, but the local bodies that govern them remain powerless

CAG report shows pensions overtook interest costs in FY23 as states spent 43% of revenue on committed expenditure, including salaries, pensions, and debt servicing