Debt Sustainability of Subnational Governments in India Lessons from International Debt Crises

In 2020, for the first time in history, the worlds debt as a percentage of its gross domestic product exceeded 100 per cent. Although it has come down slightly since then, there are concerns about where the next debt crisis will happen, given that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have found their debt to be what may be described as unsustainable. Indias overall fiscal health and macroeconomic conditions remain stable, but questions on the fiscal health of Indias subnational entities have been raised from time to time. In Debt Sustainability of Subnational Governments in India: Lessons from International Debt Crises, Dwivedi attempts to answer this question by analysing the debt sustainability of states in the context of many emerging issues and challenges to their fiscal health. The book aims to provide usable and practical recommendations to ensure sound fiscal health of the subnational governments in India. Some of the key aspects covered in the book include international experiences of excessive borrowing, and the learnings from these experiences; trends of state government debt (subnational debt); control mechanism on subnational borrowings; emerging issues that pose challenges to state finances; and recommendations to control debt from spiralling out of control.