After Congress leader Praveen Chakravarthy’s tweet, one economic comparison has gone viral: that Tamil Nadu’s total debt is now higher than Uttar Pradesh’s.

The claim is being used to suggest a simple story: fiscal failure in one state, discipline in the other.

But is that really how numbers are read?

In this episode of Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna puts the debt figures in context. Because debt, by itself, tells us very little. What matters is how large an economy is, how fast it is growing, how much revenue it raises, and what that borrowing is used for.

Produced by Megha Mukundan, Script by Pooja Prasanna, Camera by Ajay R, Edit by Nikhil Sekhar ET, Graphics by Dharini Prabharan

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In 2024–25, the BJP received over ₹6,000 crore in political donations - that’s about 85% of all donations.

Much of this money came from large corporate donors, many operating in sectors heavily dependent on government contracts, approvals, subsidies, or regulation. This includes major business groups such as L&T, Tata Group, Megha Engineering (MEIL), and Mahindra Group.

Many donors were also the companies under regulatory scrutiny, or recipients of major government contracts.

What does it say about quid pro quo? What does this level of financial dominance mean for electoral competition and democratic accountability? Pooja Prasanna explains in this week’s Let Me Explain.

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Produced by Megha Mukundan, Script by Pooja Prasanna, Camera by Ajay R, Edit by Nikhil Sekhar ET, Graphics by Jaseem Ali

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MGNREGA allowed rural workers to ask the government for work and be paid if work was not provided. That basic promise shaped how the programme worked on the ground. Now, the Union government plans to replace MGNREGA with a new law called VB G RAM G, 2025. The new framework changes how jobs are approved, funded, and delivered. In this special episode of Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna walks through what is changing and what it could mean for workers and states.

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Produced by Bhuvan Malik, Script by Pooja Prasanna, Edited by Dharini Prabaharan.

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