India’s Debt Under Narendra Modi Government Surges 49% to Rs 82 Lakh Crore in Last Four-and-Half Years
The massive surge in government's debt has been propelled by 51.7 per cent growth in public debt from Rs 48 lakh crore to Rs 73 lakh crore in the four-and-half year period. The surge was also driven by a 54 per cent rise in internal debt to about Rs 68 lakh crore.
New Delhi, January 19: India’s debt under Narendra Modi government has gone up in the last four and a half years with the total liabilities of the government increasing by 49 per cent to Rs 82 lakh crore. According to the 8th Edition of the Status Paper on Government Debt released on Friday, the total debts of the Central government stood at Rs 82,03,253 crore till September 2018. The Finance Ministry's data on government borrowings showed that the corresponding amount till June 2014 was Rs 54,90,763 crore. According to a report by IANS, the massive surge in government's debt has been propelled by 51.7 per cent growth in public debt from Rs 48 lakh crore to Rs 73 lakh crore in the four-and-half year period. The surge was also driven by a 54 per cent rise in internal debt to about Rs 68 lakh crore. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: PM Narendra Modi to Face 'Dead' Candidate in Varanasi Constituency.
The Finance Ministry stated that the Central government, in the status paper on government debt, gave a detailed analysis of the overall debt position of the government of India. It has been bringing out an annual status paper on government debt since 2010-11. According to a report by IANS, the dependence on market loans show a similar rise of 47.5 per cent to more than Rs 52 lakh crore during the period. The report further states that while debt raised through gold bonds was nil at the end of June 2014, it stood at Rs 9,089 crore including the gold monetisation scheme. Modi Government Trying to 'Capture RBI' Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, This Will Be 'Catastrophic': P Chidambaram.
With the country in massive debt, what can help a little is fiscal deficit side in the current financial year. The fiscal deficit in the first eight months till November stands at Rs 7.17 lakh crore, or 114.8 per cent of the Rs 6.24 lakh crore full year's target.
The Status Paper further added saying that the overall liabilities of the Central government are on a medium-term declining trajectory and government's debt portfolio is characterised by prudent risk profile. "Government is primarily resorting to market-linked borrowings for financing its fiscal deficit. Conventional indicators ... indicate that the debt profile of the government is comfortably placed in terms of debt sustainability parameters and is consistently improving," it added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 19, 2019 11:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).