Fiscal Health Index 2026: Odisha once again leads as the best performing Indian state for FY 2023-24. (Image: Shutterstock)Top 10 best-performing Indian states in Fiscal Health Index 2026: At a time of rising global debt levels and mounting pressures on public finances, Indian states account for nearly one-third of the country’s general government debt, according to NITI Aayog’s latest Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2026.Given that state governments play a crucial role in the country’s fiscal architecture, the FHI 2026, published last Wednesday, evaluated the fiscal performance of Indian states across five key pillars: Quality of expenditure, revenue mobilisation, fiscal prudence, debt index, and debt sustainability.Evaluating the fiscal trends for FY 2023-24, Odisha maintains its status as an ‘Achiever’, securing the top position with an FHI 2026 score of 73.1.Trending | India’s top 10 richest and poorest states and UTs in FY 2025: Maharashtra leads, Arunachal last; where does Delhi rank?Prudent fiscal management, stable revenues, and effective deficit control drive Odisha’s strong debt profile, according to the report.Goa and Jharkhand followed in second and third positions, respectively, rising from their previous year’s status as ‘Front Runners’.Chhattisgarh, which ranked second as an ‘Achiever’ last year, slipped to sixth in the ‘Front Runners’ category due to weaker fiscal conditions.Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana showcased stable and moderate fiscal strength, driven by resilient own-revenue bases and prudent debt levels.Story continues below this adHaryana also moved up in the rankings from 14 last year to 11 this year, indicating fiscal stability through disciplined expenditure management.Latest | Top 10 countries with the most billionaires in 2026: The US ranks No 1.; India is among the top threeSimilarly, Bihar, ranked 12, achieved marginal recovery through improved quality of expenditure and revenue surplus.In contrast, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala sit at the bottom of the rankings with ‘Aspirational’ status, facing ongoing financial strain as a result of widening, sustained deficits and average revenue growth.Source: Fiscal Health Index 2026 by NITI AayogStory continues below this adNote: This evaluates the fiscal performance of 18 major states compared to the previous editionInterestingly, FHI 2026 also assessed 10 northeastern and Himalayan states. Arunachal Pradesh led in the first position, driven by its exceptionally high score in the quality of expenditure category, with Uttarakhand following next, standing out with very high revenue mobilisation.The remaining northeastern states experienced mixed results, except for Nagaland and Manipur, which, along with Himachal Pradesh, were among the weaker-performing states due to limited administrative capacity and a fragmented public financial management system, the report noted.Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More © IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd