New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- The 48th International Kolkata Book Fair started with a charm of one of the most vital books our society can ever demand. On the day of the inauguration of the Kolkata Book Fair, Dr Hari Krishna Dwivedi released his current new book, "DEBT SUSTAINABILITY OF SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS IN INDIA: LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL DEBT CRISES," published by OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS. The book was launched by our honourable Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
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. 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.
Dr Dwivedi's current book focuses on evaluating states' debt sustainability in light of numerous new problems and obstacles to their fiscal health to offer actionable suggestions that might guarantee the financial stability of subnational governments in India and around the globe-concentrating on the provincial or state governments. In 2020, global debt as a percentage of GDP surpassed 100% for the first time. Given that Sri Lanka and Pakistan have already experienced debt crises, there are worries about where the next one would occur, even though it has somewhat decreased since then. Although macroeconomic conditions and India's general fiscal health are solid, this may not always be the case when talking about India's subnational entities. To provide useful and realistic suggestions that can guarantee the fiscal health of the subnational governments in India and around the world, Dwivedi analyzes the debt sustainability of states in light of numerous new problems and challenges to their fiscal health Debt Sustainability of Subnational Governments in India: Lessons from International Debt Crises. With an emphasis on state or provincial governments, Dwivedi discusses the debt that these governments incur to finance their programs and investigates if they are engaging in excessive debt.
The book fundamentally rotates around a few vital features, which include:
1. Provides policymakers with recommendations by combining Indian data and past experiences with subnational debt crises.
2. Examines the benefits and drawbacks of stringent fiscal regulations to support the creation of creative fiscal regulations.
3. Offers a different and more accurate method for calculating the sustainability of debt that takes into consideration erratic transfers from the central government.
The book's major objective is still to offer workable and realistic suggestions that will guarantee the financial stability of subnational governments in India and other federal nations worldwide. It covers several topics, such as trends in state government debt (subnational debt), new problems that present difficulties for state finances, advice on how to prevent debt from getting out of control, and international experiences with excessive borrowing or debt creation and the lessons learned from them.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.