&w=3840&q=100)
States must fix their own economies, address deeper structural cracks
Business Standard Editorial Comment
Listen to This Article
A recent report by Crisil showed that India's 18 largest states, which together account for over 90 per cent of the country's gross state domestic product (GSDP), are projected to see a revenue growth rate of 7-9 per cent in 2025-26, up from 6.6 per cent in 2024-25. Aggregate revenues are expected to touch ₹40 trillion, driven largely by steady goods and services tax (GST) collection, robust growth in excise on liquor, and improved central transfers. Petroleum tax collection, however, continues to lag with subdued 2 per cent growth.
Clearly, this is a reassuring sign of stability in state finances
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Narayana Health to add 2,000 beds, expand insurance schemes in FY26
Bengaluru-headquartered hospital chain Narayana Health aims to grow its domestic revenue by 10 per cent in FY26, in line with industry benchmarks, a senior company official said. Managing director and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rupert told Business Standard: 'Last fiscal we did about Rs 4,349 crore in India revenue and we want to grow at a rate at which the healthcare industry is growing — over 10 per cent. We look to be on the same momentum and revenue.' Sandhya J, chief financial officer at Devi Shetty's Narayana Health, said the company plans to scale up its Aditi and Arya health insurance schemes in Karnataka and West Bengal. 'The entire healthcare ecosystem is failing in trust. We are on the path to solve the trust deficit and episodic interference of fund transfer. On the back of this, we aim to double down on our insurance scheme and build a strong customer base in Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Mysore, and Kolkata.' Commenting on efforts to improve profit after tax (PAT), which declined 2.3 per cent to Rs 196 crore in Q1 due to increased investments in integrated care and other financial costs, Sandhya said PAT optimisation will improve as the India business grows. Some clinics have started breaking even, reducing losses from the health insurance schemes. 'Over a period of time, we will be able to keep the losses in check and expand margins in the domestic business. PAT should improve. Finance cost will continue to increase due to the Rs 3,000 crore project to add 2,000 beds across India over the next three years. The integrated care dilution will continue over the next year but we hope to maintain a decent level of cash burn.' She added that a large part of the funding will come through bank borrowings and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) as needed. So far, Rs 800 crore has been raised for projects already signed. The CFO noted that about Rs 1,500–2,000 crore in loans might be raised in this fiscal, depending on upcoming project developments. 'We are exploring opportunities to expand, some might be inorganic as well. Borrowings will be linked to the construction progress of our current projects.' During the quarter, revenue from international patients declined, primarily due to reduced footfall from Bangladesh. Narayana expects this trend to continue, given ongoing geopolitical tensions. 'The goal is to keep focusing on domestic growth and see how well we can push the numbers. Eventually, in the next two to three years, we believe that revenue contribution from Bangladesh will go down to zero. Not to miss, the country is building its own healthcare infrastructure.' Looking ahead, Narayana expects its integrated care business to account for a larger share of overall revenue. At present, cardiac sciences and oncology contribute approximately 33 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. On Tuesday, the Clinical Research team and Medha AI developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that predicts left ventricular ejection fraction from ECG images, enabling early heart failure detection and improved diagnostic access. 'All along we have waited for Western countries to develop these technologies. Today we are developing this because this country is blessed with phenomenally skilled, passionate software engineers and AI experts. This is our strength. We have made massive investments in building the digital platform, which is far ahead of all the other hospitals. With the great combination of a digital platform and the AI tool, healthcare will never be the same,' said Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman and founder of Narayana Health, at a media briefing. The company said that trained on over 100,000 ECG images paired with echocardiogram reports, the model showed strong predictive performance. With external validation across 14 tertiary centres and over 57,000 patients, it identified 97 per cent of individuals with severely reduced ejection fraction (≤35 per cent).
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
PCB's acute financial crunch may hit salaries, services may falter
graphic with pix by Godse Pune: A critical financial situation is looming large for Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) that could prevent it from paying employees' salaries in Sept if they do not receive the 'grant-in-aid' from the Ministry of Defence. Each month, the cantonment requires between Rs 7 crore and Rs 7.15 crore to manage its operations. Of this amount, Rs 4 crore is allocated for the salaries of permanent employees, Rs 1.5 crore for contractual staff, Rs 1.25 crore for pensions, and Rs 1 crore for essential expenses such as water and electricity. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune A senior official from the PCB told TOI, "The board received Rs 8 crore from the ministry in June, and we could pay salaries of the employees. But we have yet to get the aid, and hence, a section of employees is worried about future salaries." PCB's chief executive officer Vidyadhar Pawar, who took charge of the cantonment last week, told TOI, "I will not comment on the matter at this juncture." The board's poor financial condition has severely impacted civic services over the past four years. They have been unable to maintain public gardens, repair roadside electric lines, fix and resurface roads, or replace old drinking water and sewage pipelines. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Gorgeous Female Athletes Ranked-But Did We Get It Right? Click Here Undo "The board's GST share runs into over Rs 200 crore. But neither has the state nor the central govt paid up. Also, the board does not have lucrative revenue-generating sources. From about 12,500 properties, the board gets about Rs 30 crore revenue annually," a senior PCB official said. The board resorted to public-private partnerships (PPP) to manage hospital services and address their problems. Meanwhile, activists are blaming senior PCB officials for the lack of vision. "The board's CEOs should have found ways to overcome financial issues. We did not see a conscious effort on this front from CEOs since 2016. Hence, the board is in this situation," Sanjay Kawade, an activist from Ghorpadi, said. Rajabhau Chavan, another activist, said, "The only way forward is to merge civilian pockets of the cantonment with PMC at the earliest. The board has been in a poor financial state since 2016 and there is no indication that it will improve. The officials should complete the merger at the earliest." What Stood Still for Nine Years? Construction of commercial complex at Dobhi Ghat I ₹16 crore Construction of foot overbridge on Shankarsheth Road I ₹2.50 crore Multi-level car parking I ₹24 crore Cleaning of Bhairoba Nullah project I ₹84 crore Construction of multi-level parking and podium garden at JJ Garden I ₹10 crore Replacement of old water pipelines I Rs 10 crore Fashion Street reconstruction I ₹20 crore Road repairs, drainage infrastructure and water bill pendency runs into crores of rupees
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Historian and former BS columnist Rajat Kanta Ray passes away in Kolkata
He taught in Presidency College for more than 30 years and in 2005 then governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi went to the college to attend his class BS Reporter Historian Rajat Kanta Ray, whose works include Industrialisation in India: Growth and Conflict in the Private Corporate Sector, 1914-47 and Social Conflict and Political Unrest in Bengal 1875-1927, passed away in Kolkata on Wednesday. He taught in Presidency College for more than 30 years and in 2005 then governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi went to the college to attend his class. He became vice-chancellor of Visva Bharati University in 2006. He was a columnist with Business Standard.
