New Delhi, June 16 -- Many Indian states are heavily relying on "off-budget" borrowings executed through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and state-owned entities. This opaque financial practice has triggered calls from policy experts for a standardised, uniform framework to ensure transparent disclosure and reporting.

Speaking with ANI, SK Md Azharuddin, an Economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), highlighted that these liabilities bypass traditional fiscal scrutiny because they are omitted from annual state budgets.

"There are lots of states which are heavily dependent on off-budget borrowings," he said while speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview, adding that, "Lots of states are doing off-budget bo...