This paper uses the indicator-based approach to assess subnational debt and the fiscal sustainability of West Bengal for the period 2000–01 to 2017–18. The period has been categorised into four phases based on debt sustainability. It is studied here how the state has moved from an “unsustainable” debt burden in the first phase (2000–01 to 2003–04) to more sustainable debt levels by the fourth phase (2010–11 to 2017–18), largely driven by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.
