Public Financial Management, State Capacity, and Public Services in India

Even when public programmes are well-funded and well-designed, why do they fail to deliver? While existing research in political economy has identified various challenges affecting public service delivery, Public Financial Management, State Capacity, and Public Services in India unveils a critical, yet often overlooked factor: the architecture of public finance, particularly expenditure management systems. Drawing from existing literature, field experience, and primary data from government officials and citizens, Mathew, Purohit, and Sharma provide a compelling analysis of how India’s public finance management system contributes to pervasive governance challenges. The book proposes a series of innovative reforms, termed ’on-demand architecture’, that aim to provide both funds and real-time data about those funds to effectively improve India’s public finance management and responsiveness of service providers to citizens, civic society, and other stakeholders. By reimagining public finance beyond its traditional accounting and auditing function, the book presents a transformative framework for expanding India’s expenditure capacity and enhancing public service delivery.

Santhosh Mathew, Country Lead, Public Policy and Finance, Gates Foundation, Bhumi Purohit, Assistant Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Devesh Sharma, Senior Program Officer, Development Policy & Finance, Gates Foundation

Santhosh Mathew is a political economist with extensive experience as a civil servant within the Indian Administrative Service. He was Professor of Social Management at India’s civil service college in Mussoorie and National Program Director of the Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) program in India. He is currently with the Gates Foundation in New Delhi, where he leads a team that works on state capacity, public finance, health systems design, and human resources in health. Mathew holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, an MSc in Social Research Methods from the University of Sussex, and an MA in Economics from Delhi School of Economics.

Bhumi Purohit is an Assistant Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University. Her research examines governance and gender politics in India. Purohit holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, an MSc in Area Studies with a concentration in Modern South Asia from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Public Policy from Duke University.

Devesh Sharma is a Senior Program Officer at the Gates Foundation, where he works on digital public finance. Previously, he has worked on public financial management reforms, strengthening cash transfer programmes, digital financial services, taxation advisory, and securities markets compliance. Sharma is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School.