Debt Sustainability of Subnational Governments in India

Auteur
Dr. Hari Krishna Dwivedi is a retired officer of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS); he was earlier Chief Secretary of the Government of West Bengal. He has previously served in many key positions, including State Finance Secretary and Head of Taxation in the state. Dwivedi was a recipient of the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program in 2004-05, under which he pursued an M.Sc in Development Management from the London School of Economics (LSE). He also holds a PhD in Development Studies from Calcutta University. A prolific writer, his publications primarily cover topics such as community participation, women's empowerment, rural development, debt sustainability, local body finances, state finances, fiscal consolidation, and fiscal federalism. As the State Finance Secretary, Dwivedi has been instrumental in introducing wide-ranging reforms in financial restructuring and fiscal management of the state finances.

Texte du rabat

In Debt Sustainability of Subnational Governments in India: Lessons from International Debt Crises, Dwivedi analyses the debt sustainability of the Indian states in the context of many emerging issues and challenges to their fiscal health with the aim of providing usable and practical policy recommendations.

Résumé
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.

Contenu

• List of Tables

• List of Figures

• List of Abbreviations

• Foreword

• Preface

• 1: An Introduction to Public Debt

• 2: International Debt Crisis -- What Went Wrong?

• 3: Borrowings in a Decentralized Governance Structure

• 4: Subnational Government Borrowing in India

• 5: Impact of FRBM on Development Expenditure under Capital Account of SNGs

• 6: Debt Situation of SNGs in India: Historical Trends

• 7: Debt Sustainability of SNGs

• 8: Alternative Approach to Measure SNGs' Debt Sustainability

• 9: Emerging Issues in Debt Sustainability of SNGs in India

• 10: How SNGs in India Can Avoid Debt Crisis

• 11: Strengthening Finances of Local Bodies -- Drivers of Growth

• 12: Conclusion

• References

• Index

• Appendix