The state of Telangana has registered a record revenue growth in the first half of the current fiscal year 2018-19. A release from the Chief Minister’s Office stated that Telangana had posted a growth of 21.96 per cent in the period between April 2018 to August 2018. While the State recorded revenues of Rs. 21,642.02 crore in the first five months of FY 2017-18, the corresponding figures for the present fiscal stand at Rs. 26,394.18 crores.

The performance of Telangana is all the more admirable considering the worsening position of State finances. A Care Ratings report stated that the fiscal positions of most States deteriorated on account of a widening revenue deficit in the period 2017-18 as compared to the figures achieved in the fiscal year 2016-17. While more developed states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab saw a widening of their revenue deficit, states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha registered a reduction in their revenue surplus levels, reflecting the stress on State finances.

Telangana had been noted as among the states which had managed their debt obligations well, with a low debt-to-Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ratio and a low interest-to-revenue receipt ratio as well. The performance of the state in the first five months of the present fiscal should further improve State finances, giving the government fiscal space for welfare programmes in an election year.