With the BJP losing a faithful ally, the Telugu Desam Party, it is worrying times for the National Democratic Alliance government. The TDP led, by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, pulled out of the NDA alleging step-motherly attitude by the Narendra Modi government towards the people of Andhra Pradesh by not giving Andhra the special category status promised to it during the bifurcation of the state. At the centre of this controversy is the 15th Finance Commission and its Chairman Nand Kishore Singh. Elaborating on the broader issue of 'Special Category Status', Mr Singh says that this status grants States and local bodies 'financial headroom' which is the reason many states demand for the special status. As the head of the 15th Financial Commission, Mr Singh has a lot on his plate right now with the elections coming up in the near future as he thinks most governments will choose 'politics over economics'. Watch this episode of Walk The Talk with NK Singh filmed at his alma mater St. Stephens College where nostalgia and economics weave together a memorable conversation.
