India’s top 10 best-performing states in the Fiscal Health Index 2025

The Indian states play a critical role in resource allocation to essential sectors such as agriculture, poverty alleviation, human development, urbanization, and infrastructure. Effective fiscal management in these areas can stimulate growth, enhance social welfare, and promote regional economic convergence.

Fiscal Health Index 2025: India’s top 10 best-performing states in FY 2023

While Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, and Gujarat have notably been the top-performing states throughout all periods examined in the study, here are the best-performing states in India, for the financial year 2022-23, according to NITI Aayog’s Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2025 report, released on January 24, 2025.

Source: Fiscal Health Index 2025, NITI Aayog

Key highlights from the Fiscal Health Index 2025:

Here’s a state-wise category (Source: FHI 2025, NITI AAyog)

Odisha stands out as the leader in fiscal health, boasting the highest overall index score of 67.8, excelling in the Debt Index (99.0) and Debt Sustainability (64.0) rankings while also maintaining above-average scores in Quality of Expenditure and Revenue Mobilisation.

Its low fiscal deficits, healthy debt profile, and robust capital outlay relative to its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) further strengthen its fiscal standing.

Following Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Goa trail with scores of 55.2 and 53.6, respectively, with Chhattisgarh particularly noted for its impressive debt index, whereas Goa achieves notable success in revenue mobilisation.

Both states have demonstrated a commendable balance between expenditure and revenue, reflecting diligent fiscal management.

Jharkhand has made significant strides in improving its fiscal health, achieving a rank of 4 in FY 2022-23, up from a rank of 10 during the 2015-19 to 2021-22 period, driven by enhanced revenue mobilisation, greater fiscal prudence, and improved debt sustainability.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka have been categorized as ‘front-runners.’

On the other end of the spectrum, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala are identified as the worst-performing states, categorised as ‘aspirational’ due to significant fiscal challenges.

While Punjab and Kerala struggle with low-quality expenditure and debt sustainability, West Bengal grapples with issues related to revenue mobilisation and debt indices, Andhra Pradesh struggles with a significant fiscal deficit, and Haryana’s weak debt profile exacerbates its financial difficulties.