Bifurcation has put the State at a disadvantageous position making it necessary to take loans but the loans are being utilised to create assets and provide welfare for the people unlike in the past where they were taken and misappropriated, Minister for Finance & Planning, Commerical Taxes, Legislative Affairs Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Responding to queries raised by MLAs in a short discussion on the Outstanding Public Debt, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said the debt-to-GSDP ratio in percentage had gone up from 18.22 as on June 2, 2014 to 20.80 to October 31, 2017.
This happened because the State-owned revenues had not picked up as anticipated and the Capital Expenditure for infrastructure needed of the newly formed State was higher then expected.
There was also increase in the revenue expenditure on account of increase in salaries and pensions due to the implementation of the 10th PRC and also due to the implementation of the Farm Loan Waiver Scheme and other subsidies to encourage overall growth in the primary and the secondary sectors, he said. The State was also put under an unexpected debt burden of DISCOMs under the UDAY Scheme, he said.
Giving a break up, the Finance Minister said the outstanding debt for the combined State was ₹1,66,522.32 crore on June 1, 2014. After bifurcation, the debt apportioned to A.P. was ₹97,123.91 crore. Another ₹67,842.33 crore was added to the public debt from June 2, 2014 to October 31, this year. This included the ₹8,256.01 crore UDAY bonds invested in DISCOMs, the Finance Minister explained.
The 14th Finance Commission estimated that the GSDP of A.P. for five years from 2015-16 would be ₹39,02,431 crore. The State would then be eligible for ₹1,17,073 crore of net borrowings, being 3% of this amount, in these five years and the Public Debt would be within its limits as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, he said.
MLAs Ganni Veeranjaneyulu and Uppuleti Kalpana came down on Leader of the Opposition Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for misleading the public about the borrowings made by the government.
