Several top bureaucrats are reported to have briefed prime minister Narendra Modi that some states could become like cash-strapped Sri Lanka or Greece due to the freebies they have announced. The bureaucrats are reported to have said that announcements made by Punjab, Delhi, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are unsustainable.
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak. Let us examine the financial position of the states cited above by the bureaucrats, along with