Centre’s debt to reach Rs 185 lakh cr
Total debt in FY24 was Rs171.78 lakh cr or 58.2% of GDP
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New Delhi: The government estimates its debt, including external borrowing, valued at current exchange rate and public account and other liabilities will increase to Rs185 lakh crore, or 56.8 per cent of the GDP, during the current fiscal year.
The total debt stood at Rs171.78 lakh crore, or 58.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), at the end of March 2024, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday.
As per the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook, April 2024, India’s Gross Domestic Product at current prices has already reached $3.57 trillion in 2023-24, he said. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said the growth rate of the private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) at constant prices in 2022-23 and 2023-24 is 6.8 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, he said, quoting provisional GDP estimates for 2023-24 released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The growth rate of PFCE at current prices in 2022-23 and 2023-24 is 14.2 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively, he said, adding that the ratio of PFCE to the GDP at current prices in 2023-24 is 60.3 per cent.
In response to another question, Chaudhary said the normal net borrowing ceiling (NBC) of the States for 2021-22 was fixed at 4 per cent of gross state domestic product (GSDP) as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. Of the normal NBC of 4 per cent of projected GSDP for 2021-22, the borrowing ceiling of 0.50 per cent of the projected GSDP was earmarked for the incremental capital expenditure incurred by States during 2021-22, for which, a target for capital expenditure was fixed for each State, he said.
