On Tuesday, the Finance Minister of Gujarat Kanu Desai informed that as per the revised estimates of 2020-21, Gujarat’s public debt stood at Rs 3,00,963 crore.
He revealed the figure in his reply to a written query by opposition MLA Punja Vansh (Congress).
In a written reply to a sub-question about interest paid on loans taken in the last two years, Desai said that the government paid the principal amount of Rs 16,701 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 17,918 crore in 2020-21.
He also revealed the interest paid, which is Rs 20,293 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 22,099 crore in 2020-21.
During the discussion, Congress MLA Vansh alleged that 10% of the budget was being used to pay interest on loans taken by the state.
However, Desai countered it by saying that the state debt was well within the prescribed limits. As per the current debt-to-GDP ratio, a state government can bear a debt of up to Rs 4,50,000 crore.
Desai told the House that a state’s debt is an indicator of development. He also said that debt of Gujarat is nearly 21 per cent of the state GDP, which is well within the prescribed limits.
He also revealed that until now, the Congress-led Punjab’s debt-to-GDP ratio is nearly 53 per cent.
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