Article: Fiscal federalism and public expenditure on education: an Indian experience post-2015 Journal: International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies (IJHRCS) 2026 Vol.13 No.3 pp.280 - 289 Abstract: Education is a significant factor in achieving the Human Development and Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 and has been given substantial weightage in discussions by policy analysts, bureaucrats, and government. One of the important keys to improving educational outcomes is to improve the public expenditure on the education sector. It has been observed that India's educational spending has been significantly low. One reason for the same is education falls under the concurrent list in the Indian Constitution which confers the responsibility to both the union as well as the state government to spend on education. However, the fiscal design in India has been such which empowers the union government to raise more revenue. The paper highlights the public expenditure on education and delves into the impact of fiscal reforms since 2015 on spending on education. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Fiscal federalism and public expenditure on education: an Indian experience post-2015

Authors: Richa Dwivedi; Shashikala Gurpur

Addresses: Symbiosis Law School (SLS), Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), Vimannagar, Pune, Maharashtra, India ' Symbiosis Law School (SLS), Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), Vimannagar, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: Education is a significant factor in achieving the Human Development and Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 and has been given substantial weightage in discussions by policy analysts, bureaucrats, and government. One of the important keys to improving educational outcomes is to improve the public expenditure on the education sector. It has been observed that India's educational spending has been significantly low. One reason for the same is education falls under the concurrent list in the Indian Constitution which confers the responsibility to both the union as well as the state government to spend on education. However, the fiscal design in India has been such which empowers the union government to raise more revenue. The paper highlights the public expenditure on education and delves into the impact of fiscal reforms since 2015 on spending on education.

Keywords: public expenditure; education; fiscal federalism; educational outcomes; human development; sustainable development goals; SDGs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2026.155286

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2026 Vol.13 No.3, pp.280 - 289

Received: 05 Feb 2024
Accepted: 13 Feb 2024
Published online: 30 Jul 2026 *

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