Archive · 18 Sep 2026
N K Singh urges state debt reviews, deeper fiscal partnership
N K Singh said India’s central government and state governments should work more closely.
He said each state should have its own check on whether its debt can be managed safely.
These checks would consider how fast a state grows, how much interest it pays and how much money it collects.
Singh also said governments should use tax information and technology to find people and businesses that may not be paying the taxes they owe.
He suggested that governments work together to finance projects such as roads, transport and urban development.
He also wanted states to prepare stronger projects so private investors and development banks can help pay for them.
Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said cooperation has helped India achieve economic stability and fiscal discipline.
She added that government budgets alone cannot pay for all the planned transformation.
Singh said strong states and a strong Union depend on cooperation and trust.
N K Singh called for stronger fiscal cooperation between the Union government and states.
He proposed independent, state-wise debt sustainability assessments by the Reserve Bank of India or Ministry of Finance, with Comptroller and Auditor General support.
Singh urged wider use of tax data, artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify compliance gaps and broaden the tax base.
He recommended GST Council-like pooled financing for shared infrastructure and a National Tourism Council for better coordination.
Officials said private financing, bankable projects and multilateral development bank support would be essential to fund India’s transformation.
- Who
- Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh and Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur addressed state finance ministers and finance secretaries.
- What
- Singh proposed state-wise debt sustainability assessments and broader fiscal cooperation between the Union government and states.
- When
- Friday; the articles do not specify the date.
- Where
- New Delhi, at the Conference of State Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries.
- Why
- To support fiscal discipline, sustained growth, cooperative federalism and the financing of India’s development ambitions.
- Main proposal
- Independent debt sustainability assessments for individual states.
- Potential assessors
- The Reserve Bank of India or Ministry of Finance, supported by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
- Assessment factors
- Growth, interest costs, revenue buoyancy and committed expenditure.
- Revenue strategy
- Use GST, income-tax, customs and corporate data, alongside artificial intelligence and machine learning, to broaden the tax base.
- Shared financing
- GST Council-like mechanisms for infrastructure, urbanisation, agricultural value chains, logistics, transport and river basins.
- Private investment
- States should create bankable project pipelines, improve risk allocation and use multilateral development bank financing.
- Rating change cited
- Japan Credit Rating upgraded India from BBB+ to A- in a recent one-notch upgrade, according to Anuradha Thakur.