India, March 22 -- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also oversees the finance portfolio, recently presented the 2025-26 state budget, aiming to balance fiscal prudence with developmental aspirations. The budget emphasises tourism expansion, green energy, and rural upliftment as key growth drivers. However, persistent financial challenges-including declining central grants, rising debt, and increasing revenue expenditure-continue to pose significant hurdles to fiscal management.
Plummeting central grants
Himachal Pradesh's fiscal distress stems from policy shifts and structural financial limitations. A major setback has been the sharp reduction in central grants, particularly the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), whic...