Four states namely Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh that registered the highest number of COVID-19 cases including deaths are now facing financial constraints.
Maharashtra government has announced paying the salaries to its government staffs in two instalments.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu have requested Centre for fiscal grants in a bid to fight the COVID battle as cases are rising every day. Clearly, the domino effect of COVID-19 and slowdown in the economy will push the states in more debt.
All the four states had allotted only 2-4 percent of the total capital outlay in 2019-20 for medical and public health expenditure. No state is spending disproportionately in creating the public health infrastructure.
As mentioned in a report by Business Today in its report, in the revenue expenditure in medical and public health, Kerala is spending highest at 5.14 percent (Rs 6,389 crore) of its total expenditure followed by Tamil Nadu at 4.15 percent (Rs 8,814 crore), Maharashtra at 4.07 percent (Rs 13,636 crore) and Uttar Pradesh at 3.63 percent (Rs 13,247 crore).
