State Finances

State stats: Handouts, pension scheme fuel state revenue deficit worries

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

From splurge to squeeze: Women's cash schemes face fiscal reality

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

States' fiscal realities vary widely as debt, revenue and capex diverge

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

Social welfare spending is improving quality of lives across states

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

State priorities split as outlays surge, spending patterns diverge

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

Rich states pull ahead in tax self-reliance; Haryana tops, Bihar trails

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

States' fiscal math in the age of 'freebies': Stable, but strains remain

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

16th FC breaks with precedent, leaves out statewise GSDP projections

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

California budget deal proposes new tax on digital software sales

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

20 states utilised just 5.86% of combined budgeted capex in April-May

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

Best of BS Opinion: Weather risks, state finances and Trump's economics

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

Under strain, state finances in Kerala and TN need a new fiscal compact

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

Welfare bills, rising commitments drag 4 states from surplus to deficit

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

Tamil Nadu debt nearly doubles to ₹10 trillion in five years: White paper

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

18 states overshot fiscal deficit ceiling in FY25, shows CAG report

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

Real cost of freebies is the erosion in quality of public spending

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

States' reliance on RBI's SDF rises in FY26 as WMA, overdraft usage falls

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

Best of BS Opinion: Centre, states face strong fiscal headwinds

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

Cash-transfer promises rise, but can states afford the welfare bill?

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

Statsguru: Big welfare promises confront strained state economies

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