Debt Burden Of Rs 1.97 Lakh Crore Not A Cause Of Concern, Says Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that Government's public debt is Rs 1.97 lakh crore

The Government of India has a debt burden of Rs 1,97,45,670 crore which is 60.5 per cent of the GDP as per the provisional figures out there for the yr 2020-21. However the Centre has stated that it's "not a great cause of concern" because it has adopted varied debt consolidation measures.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman whereas giving an oral response to a query raised in Lok Sabha throughout Question Hour, in search of to know the debt burden on the nation and whether or not it was a matter of concern for the Government, stated, "towards overcoming the debt burden, Government's focus is to reduce fiscal deficit from 6.8 per cent of GDP in 2021-22 to below 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26. Debt consolidation through increasing buoyancy of tax revenues through improved compliance, increased receipts from monetisation of assets including Public Sector Enterprises and land are the additional steps involved to overcome the debt burden."

She added that these steps coupled with ample limits on the borrowings of state governments, "the present debt is not a great cause of concern".

To one other query on whether or not the Government has assessed its reimbursement capability of the general public debt, the Finance Minister stated that "the strategy of reducing debt involving reduction of fiscal deficit, increasing buoyancy of taxes through improved compliance and increased receipts from monetisation of assets, including public sector enterprises and land, ensures the repayment capacity of the Government".