Srinagar, April 9 -- The latest audit of Jammu and Kashmir's finances paints a worrying picture.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Union Territory is still spending more money than it earns, year after year.

The gap between what the government takes in and what it pays out has not shrunk. Instead it is a reminder that the region's financial health remains weak and dependent on help from New Delhi.

A revenue deficit is a simple idea. It means the money coming in from taxes, fees, and other regular sources is not enough to run the government's everyday work.

Salaries, supplies, services, and support for communities all cost money. When a government can't meet those costs with its own revenue, it must lean on...