The Pushkar Singh Dhami government’s prowess in Uttarakhand’s superior financial management and fiscal discipline has once again been demonstrated. Uttarakhand has demonstrated its superior performance in the special category of states with special status.
Uttarakhand has secured second place, after Arunachal Pradesh, in the Composite Public Financial Performance Index rankings, i.e., overall performance, by the Arun Jaitley National Institute for Financial Management (AJNIFM), a prestigious financial institution under the Union Ministry of Finance. Neighboring Himachal Pradesh lagged far behind. Prior to AJNIFM, the Composite Financial Performance Index (CPF) released a report on the financial health of states for the 10-year period from 2013-14 to 2022-23. Uttarakhand is among the 16 states in the country with revenue surplus. Increasing state revenue from its own resources has been considered crucial for maintaining revenue surplus. The Dhami government’s measured steps on this financial management metric have received nationwide recognition. AJNIFM has now ranked states across the country based on fiscal and financial management for the financial year 2023-24. In the special category of Himalayan states with special status, including Uttarakhand, the state’s financial management and fiscal discipline have been evaluated on 23 parameters. Uttarakhand topped the Resource Management Index. This means that the state government has achieved first place, demonstrating its outstanding performance in managing its resources. Himachal Pradesh is second. Similarly, Uttarakhand ranks first in the Contingent Liability Index, while Himachal is third. According to this, the state has refrained from the policy of shifting its liabilities to others for the future. Uttarakhand has improved its debt management and has managed its position.
In the Debt Management Index, Uttarakhand ranks fifth among the special category states, while neighboring Himachal Pradesh is at the bottom, at 10th. Similarly, Uttarakhand ranked fifth in the Deficit Management Index, while Himachal Pradesh dropped one place. Uttarakhand ranked second in the final composite index and overall ranking.
