Chandigarh, Jan. 28 -- The NITI Aayog's Fiscal Health Index (FHI) for the financial year 2022-23 has delivered a stark revelation - Punjab has ranked the lowest among 18 major Indian states. With an FHI score of just 10.7, far behind Odisha's leading score of 67.8, Punjab's fiscal health is in critical condition. The state's position reflected systemic weaknesses across multiple fiscal parameters, including debt management, expenditure quality, and revenue mobilization.
The FHI evaluated states on five broad indicators - quality of expenditure, revenue mobilization, fiscal prudence, debt index, and debt sustainability. Punjab's failure is rooted in its dismal performance in quality of expenditure, fiscal prudence, and debt index; while it ...