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The Hindu
4 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
How healthy are India's State legislatures?
India is a union of states — a structure enshrined in the Constitution that gives States a central role in legislating critical areas like health, agriculture, and public order. But how well are India's State Assemblies functioning? A new report by PRS Legislative Research that examines how 31 State Assemblies performed in 2024 has found that States passed over 500 Bills, yet most Assemblies met for just 20 days and spent around 100 hours in session. Many laws were cleared on the very day they were introduced, and States issued 100 ordinances in total. What does this say about legislative scrutiny, accountability, and the democratic process at the state level? Guest: Niranjana S Menon, a Senior Analyst at PRS Legislative Research. Host: Nivedita V. Edited by Jude Francis Weston For more In Focus episodes:
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Top 10 Indian states and UTs with the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in FY 2025–26
Top Indian States/UTs by debt-to-GDP ratio FY 2025–26: India is currently the fastest-growing large economy in the world. Recently, it surpassed Japan to become the fourth-largest economy globally and is projected to overtake Germany within the next 2.5 to 3 years, according to NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam. While the Indian economy is growing and thriving, the recent IMF and Fiscal Monitor debt-at-risk analysis revealed that the country's debt-to-GDP ratio is 80.4% globally. Indian central government, in a significant shift, has recently outlined a transition to using the debt-GDP ratio as the fiscal anchor from the 2026-27 financial year, as it aims for a decreasing debt-GDP ratio of 50±1 per cent by March 31, 2031. According to the report, Jammu and Kashmir leads the list with 51% debt-to-GDP, the highest among all states. It is followed by Arunachal Pradesh, a relatively small state economy, having an exceptionally high fiscal deficit (8.9%). Notably, the northeastern states of India—Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Meghalaya—feature prominently in the list, showing structural fiscal imbalances driven by economic disparities, limited industrialisation, rugged terrain, and sparse population. On the contrary, Odisha tops the list with the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio (12.7%), reflecting strong fiscal discipline, good revenue mobilisation from mining and the growing manufacturing sector, and effective expenditure control. The largest states in terms of GDP—Maharashtra (18.4%), Gujarat (15.3%), Karnataka (24.9%) and Tamil Nadu (26.1%)—have maintained moderate debt levels with sustainable fiscal policies. Source: GDP and debt-to-GDP figures are based on 2025–26 budget estimates, sourced from PRS Legislative Research and compiled by Forbes India. Note: The debt-to-GDP ratio is a crucial economic metric for assessing a country or state's ability to manage its debt and overall economic health. High ratios could indicate long-term fiscal issues, constrain development investment, and raise concerns about debt sustainability. Methodology: The debt-to-GDP ratio of Indian states is derived by dividing the total outstanding debt of a state by its GDP and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here is the formula: The debt-to-GDP ratio for states is calculated as (total state debt/state GDP) * 100. Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager - Content at The Indian Express. She is responsible for crafting compelling narratives, uncovering the latest news and developments, and driving engaging content based on data and trends to boost website traffic and audience engagement. One can connect with her on LinkedIn or by mail at ... Read More
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Business Standard
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
State legislatures are in a rush, spend little time in scrutinising Bills
A landmark Supreme Court judgment in April set a timeline for state Governors to decide on Bills sent to them by legislatures, mandating a response within specific timelines. Last week, President Droupadi Murmu, in a rare move, asked the court whether it can fix timelines for Governors and the President to clear state Bills under Article 201 of the Constitution. The court's judgment came amid concerns about Governors sitting on legislation and stalling state governments. But if Governors are being blamed for delaying Bills, most state legislatures are in a rush. Many of them have truncated debates, rushed Budget approvals and little scrutiny of critical financial allocations. Last year, almost three out of every four state legislatures wrapped up Budget and ministry expenditure discussions in just 10 days. As many as 46.4 per cent of states completed deliberations in two to five days, according to calculations by PRS Legislative Research and 'Business Standard'. As many as 35.7 per cent completed deliberations in six to 10 days. Only 7.2 per cent extended the process to 11-15 days, while 10.7 per cent went beyond 16 days. Kerala and Goa stood out for spending 18 days to discuss their Budgets, followed by Odisha (16), Gujarat (14), and Rajasthan (13). Six states, including Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana, discussed and passed their Budgets in just two days. The rush is greater in reviewing ministry-wise expenditure — arguably one of the most vital aspects of Budget scrutiny. In 21 states, the time gap between the general Budget and ministry-specific discussions was just one day. Only two states took two to five days and three states more than five days. Compare that to Parliament, where the Budget session is split for three to four weeks to allow Parliamentary Standing Committees to examine the expenditure proposals of Ministries in detail. After a Bill is passed by a legislature, it is sent to the Governor, who can grant assent, return it for reconsideration, or reserve it for the President. The Constitution says that the Governor must act "as soon as possible" but delays are frequent and vary widely across states. According to the Annual Review of State Laws 2024 by PRS Legislative Research, 60 per cent of Bills passed by state legislatures in 2024 received gubernatorial assent within a month. As many 18 per cent took more than three months, including Bills still pending as of April 2025. While Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Mizoram, and Rajasthan ensured that all their Bills were cleared by Governors within a month, other states experienced significant lags. Himachal Pradesh had 72 per cent of its Bills delayed by more than three months, followed by Sikkim (56 per cent) and West Bengal (38 per cent). Tamil Nadu, where the Governor and the state government have clashed several times, saw 60 per cent of Bills receive assent within a month. Another 18 per cent took one to three months and 22 per cent were delayed by more than three months.
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Delhi Assembly just passed a single Bill in all of 2024: Report
The Delhi Assembly passed only a single Bill in 2024 — the least number of Bills passed by any state or union territory Assembly in India. This finding is from a report released on Monday by non-profit organisation PRS Legislative Research on the functioning of state legislatures. Delhi only passed one Bill — The Delhi Goods and Services Tax (Third Amendment) Act, 2024 — while states, on average, passed 17 Bills throughout the year. This GST Bill was also passed on the same day it was introduced in the Assembly, making Delhi one of the eight states that passed all Bills on the same day they were introduced into the Assembly. The seven other states were Bihar, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. In 2024, 62 out of the 70 legislators in the Delhi Assembly were from the AAP, and the remaining eight were from the BJP. The report, titled Annual Review of State Laws 2024, also points out that last year, the national capital's Assembly session, along with Tamil Nadu's, lasted the longest without the session being prorogued. Proroguing refers to ending a session of the Assembly. Delhi's Assembly session continued from February to December last year. The Delhi Assembly met for 25 days in 2024, higher than the national average of 20. Odisha met for the highest number of days (42), followed by Kerala (38). The average sitting days of Assemblies across the country also fell from a high of 28 in 2017 to 20 in 2024. As per the report, Delhi's amendment to the GST Bill was among 60% of Bills across the country that received the Governor's assent within a month. Of the Bills passed in 2024, 18% got assent after more than three months (this includes Bills awaiting assent as of April 2025). States where a high proportion of Bills got assent after more than three months include Himachal Pradesh (72% of Bills passed), Sikkim (56%) and West Bengal (38%). Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at ... Read More
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Business Standard
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
No deputy speaker in eight state assemblies, says think tank report
Amid a debate over the absence of a deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha, data compiled by a think tank shows eight state assemblies not having anyone in the position, with Jharkhand not electing one for more than 20 years. According to a report on the Annual Review of State Laws, 2024, released by PRS Legislative Research, state assemblies sat for an average of 20 days, amounting to an average of 100 hours in total, last year. Article 178 of the Constitution requires state assemblies to choose two members as speaker and deputy speaker as soon as possible, according to the report. Assemblies of eight states and Union territories did not have a deputy speaker as of April 2025, the think tank said in the report. The list includes Jharkhand, which has not elected a deputy speaker for more than 20 years. While the previous Uttar Pradesh Assembly elected a deputy speaker in its last session, the current assembly, which is three years into its term, has not yet elected one. "The Constitution assigns some key functions to the deputy speaker. He officiates as the speaker in case of a vacancy (due to death or resignation of the speaker). He also receives notice of no-confidence motion against the speaker and presides over the discussion on that motion," according to the report. Other state assemblies that do not have a deputy speaker are Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttarakhand. The Lok Sabha has not had a deputy speaker since June 2019. According to the report, state assemblies met for an average of 20 days in 2024. The Odisha Assembly met for the highest number of days at 42, followed by Kerala (38) and West Bengal (36). In Manipur, where President's Rule was imposed in February, the assembly met for 14 days. The Nagaland Assembly met for six days, the Sikkim Assembly for eight days, and the assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand for 10 days each. Among the larger states, the assemblies of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh met for 16 days each. "The Constitution mandates legislatures to meet at least once in six months. Eleven states met this requirement through short sessions that lasted for one or two days," according to the report. State assemblies with a relatively higher number of average annual sitting days include Kerala at 44 days a year on an average, Odisha (40), and Karnataka and West Bengal (34). The average duration of a sitting was five hours, with wide variation across states. While sittings of the assemblies of Goa and Rajasthan lasted for an average of seven hours, the average duration of sittings in Bihar, Jharkhand and Punjab was about three hours. "When assemblies meet for a few days in a year and for a few hours on these days, they have limited time for discussion on laws and government finances," the think tank said in the report.
