The hilly state of Himachal Pradesh is groaning under a debt burden, with the debt-to-GDP ratio at an estimated 42.5 per cent of gross state domestic product and the fiscal deficit almost doubling to 6.4 per cent of GSDP. Much of this debt has been built on a welter of populist subsidies that the state government has rolled out to make good on electoral promises without a commensurate rise in revenue. The top edit argues that rising competitive populism of this kind could seriously undermine the country’s long-term development potential. Read it here
In other views:
Ajit Balakrishnan discusses the upsides and risks of DNA-related research. Read it here
Debashis Basu examines the contrarian evidence that interest rate cuts boost market sentiments. Read it here
The second edit says despite India’s Paralympic success, the differently abled remain excluded in access to public facilities. Read it here