Per capita debt rises 9% to Rs 53,796 at March 2016

Per capita debt calculated on the basis of Union Government Debt increased by more than 9 percent year-on-year to Rs 53,796 at March 2016 mainly on account of development expenditure to achieve higher growth.

The per capita debt was Rs 49,270 at the end of March 2015, up from Rs 30,171 at March 2010.

"As per Finance Accounts and data on population, per capita debt calculated on the basis of Union Government Debt as on March 31, 2016, was Rs 53,796 as against Rs 49,270 as on March 2015," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The interest paid on the debt was Rs 4,41,659 crore in 2015-16.

The per capital debt, he added, "has increased primarily on account of developmental expenditure to achieve higher growth".

The per capita burden of Union Government inter-alia includes external debt, internal debt and other liabilities.

Jaitley further said the government has been following a comprehensive strategy to moderate growth in public debt through a policy of fiscal rectitude including, recourse to lower cost borrowings, phased introduction of active consolidation of debt, and encouraging non-debt creating capital flow.

He said the reduction in fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP in BE 2016-17 is designed with a mix of reduction in total expenditure as percentage of GDP and improvement in gross tax revenue as percentage of GDP.

"With reprioritisation of expenditure towards developmental side and curtailing the growth in non-developmental expenditure, total expenditure is estimated to decline as percentage of GDP," Jaitley said.

In another reply, he said in the 7th meeting of Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) held last month, the 'operation work plan' and 'funding plan' of the NDB for 2017 were approved, which, inter alia, target a lending of USD 2.5 billion during 2017.

The NDB Board also approved a loan of USD 350 million to the India for the Madhya Pradesh Major District Roads Project to be implemented by MP Road Development Corporation.