Telangana debt burden 'alarming'; outstanding estimated at Rs 3.29 lakh cr

Hyderabad: The State's debt burden is reaching an alarming level; its public debt outstanding has been estimated at Rs 3.29 lakh crore in the new financial year 2022-2023.

The official figures projected in the budget proposals presented by Finance Minister T Harish Rao in the Assembly on Monday show the total debt will reach Rs 329, 988 crore, contributing 25 per cent of the State GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product). The debt burden in 2021-2022 was 2.85 lakh crore and Rs 2.44 lakh crore in 2020-2021. It was Rs 2.05 lakh crore in 2019-2020 financial year.

For the past three years, the debt outstanding was 25 per cent of the GSDP. In 2019-2020, it was 22 per cent. The reason for increasing debt burden is the government seeking more open market loans. The government projected the open market loans will increase to Rs 2.89 lakh crore from Rs 2.44 lakh crore in the current financial year. On an average, the government was seeking more than Rs 35,000 crore open market loans for the last three years. It was getting loans from the Central government and special securities (small savings) and provident funds.

The government has projected Rs 7,188-crore as loans from the Union government, Rs 13,591-crore loans from autonomous bodies and Rs 19,336 crore as special securities.