Indebtedness, Fiscal Discipline and Development Spending – A Non-parametric Approach

Indian states exhibit considerable heterogeneity in terms of revenue mobilizing capacities and efforts, development spending and fiscal dependence on the central government. In this context, the paper compares the fiscal performance of major Indian states in terms of two non-parametric performance evaluation models for the period 2009–10 to 2014–15. The study thus uses the conventional two stage framework for efficiency evaluation as well as the two stage conditional performance model. The outcomes enable us to identify front-runners as well as laggards in the area of fiscal management. Further, the study showed that the gross capital formation experienced by the states significantly influences state performance in India. However, the impact of outstanding liabilities on efficiency performance was statistically insignificant