Govt's total debt came down to 46.7% of GDP in FY13
Government's total debt at the end of last fiscal was 46.7 percent of GDP against 50.3 percent reported in the Budget documents, according to a status report on public debt position of the government.
July 17, 2013 / 12:17 IST
Government's total outstanding liabilities at the end of the last fiscal was 46.7 percent of GDP as against 50.3 percent reported in the Budget documents, according to a status report on the public debt position of the government.
Internal debt constituted 92.9 percent of total debt as on March 2013 while external debt accounted for the remaining 7.1 percent, said the third status report on the public debt position of the Government released by the Finance Ministry this evening.Also read: Rupee rescue: Govt mulls global rupee bond mkt, say sourcesThe public debt accounted for 86.9 percent of total liabilities, while public account liabilities constituted the remaining 13.1 percent at the end of FY 13, it said.The report said that public debt has shown major improvement over the years with the liabilities coming down to 40.6 percent in FY13, a steady decline from 48.1 percent in FY03 to 37.1 percent in FY08, on account of both fiscal consolidation as well as high GDP growth during the period. However, there has been a 60 basis point (1 basis point equal to 0.01 percent) spike in the debt position from FY12 levels to 46.7 percent from 46.1 percent of GDP in the
previous fiscal. The report said the trend reversed marginally during FY09 and in FY10 when fiscal deficit rose due to the fiscal easing to counter the impacts of global financial crisis. As a
result, public debt to GDP ratio rose from 37.1 percent in FY08 to 39.9 percent in FY10.In FY11, growth recovered and fiscal deficit dipped to 4.8 percent, leading to a decline in public debt to 37.9 percent of GDP. Subsequently, fiscal deficit widened again in FY12 to 5.7 percent of GDP, which along with a growth deceleration, led to increase in the ratio of public debt to GDP in March 2013 to 40.6 percent.However, the long-term trend of decline in the ratio of public debt to GDP is intact, the report noted. On the flip side, the share of public debt in total liabilities has gone up from 80.1 percent in FY09 to 86.9 percent in FY13, reflecting the increased recourse to market related instruments for financing fiscal deficit. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
