Public expenditure and fiscal management has been a primary area of research at the institute. Major works in this area include those on state finances, public debt, government subsidies, analysis of public spending both the Central and the State level, and public expenditure  management. Research on finances of various State governments and extension of policy advice for better fiscal management have been core contributions of the institute. The institute's research contribution also include studies on various aspects of Central government funding including their allocation, distribution and utilization at the State-level. More recently, the institute has done significant work on public expenditure financial accountability, public financial management performance assessment, and fiscal issues related to energy (including fossil fuels), environment, health, education and gender. Institute's specialization in budgetary analysis has been the basis for most of the studies in this area.