Jan 24- With a Fiscal Health Index (FHI) score of 53.6, Goa has bagged third spot in the NITI Aayog’s inaugural Fiscal Health Index (FHI) report. The report evaluates the fiscal health of 18 major Indian states based on their GDP contribution, demographics, public spending, revenues, and fiscal stability. Goa has scored 45.5 on quality of expenditure, 87.1 on revenue mobilisation, 59.4 on fiscal prudence, 51 on debt index and 25.2 on debt sustainability. Odisha leads the list with FHI score of 67.8 followed by Chattisgarh at 55.2. Incidentally at 10.7 the state of Punjab has the least FHI. Capital Expenditure, on average, constituted 27% of the total Developmental Expenditure for Goa. NITI Ayog has advised Goa to create a debt sustainability framework to ensure long term fiscal health, focusing on a comprehensive debt management strategy to address rising Committed Expenditures.
