Local Costs, Central Gains: RDG Cuts and Himachal’s Fiscal Strain

Revenues flow overwhelmingly to Central utilities. The resource is local. The land is local. The risks are local. The profits are not.

Revenues flow overwhelmingly to Central utilities. The resource is local. The land is local. The risks are local. The profits are not.

True reforms would ensure a level playing field and boost public investments in education, healthcare and social security

In spite of the Agreement being presented officially as win-win, it is one-sided.

The Union Budget 2026-27 lacks a clear vision which will neither resolve the current problems faced by the economy nor will it help meet the global challenge ahead.

Public policy scholar Thomas Dye defined public policy as what governments choose to do and choose not to do. Annual budgets make this definition tangible. They are not merely fiscal documents. They are political and economic statements that reveal priorities, constraints, and institutional intent. Equally important, they reveal what remains deferred. In health financing, omissions often matter as much as allocations.

As Southeast Asia becomes increasingly contested by the superpowers, the regional majors are looking for collaboration with a benign power, as well as significant business and security opportunities.