Assam maintaining 23% Debt-to-GDP ratio: Neog tells Assembly

GUWAHATI: The Assam government is maintaining a 23.47 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio in borrowing loans from various agencies which is below the 32 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FDRN), Finance Minister Ajanta Neog informed the State Assembly on Tuesday. 

Replying to a starred question from Congress member Abdul Batin Khandakar during Question Hour of the House on day 2 of the budget session on Tuesday, Neog said according to the AFRDN rule, the state government can borrow 3.5 per cent of SGDP each year.

In addition to this, the Central government fixed the amount of loan to be borrowed by a state government. 

“Till 2022-23 fiscal, the state government has maintained 23.47 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio against 32 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio fixed by the AFRDN”, the minister said.

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She said the state’s GDP was increased from Rs 227959 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 493167 in 2022-23.

She also said all outstanding loans owed by the Assam government till 2014-`15 would be fully repaid by the year 2025.

Neog also said the state has also been paying the instalments for the loans that it had borrowed till the end of the 2022-23 fiscal.

Neog highlighted the progress in clearing the debt, mentioning that loans acquired by the state government from 2001 to 2015 had already been settled.

Neog further said that audits are underway for the remaining debt from 2023, with plans to clear it by year-end.

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The minister informed the House that the state government’s loan debt from 2016-17 to 2022-23, currently under audit, amounts to Rs 25,902.16 crore.

The cumulative debt incurred during the BJP’s tenure, from 2016 under former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to the current chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, totals Rs 1,09,071.22 crore.

Breakdowns of the loan debt reveal figures for each financial year, with amounts ranging from Rs 5,649.45 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 17,148.41 crore in 2021-22.

There has been a significant increase in loan debt over the years, from Rs 4,543 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 16,338 crore in 2022-23. 

As of March 31, 2021, the total loan undertaken was Rs 82,741.07 crore, which rose to Rs 1,15,751 crore by March 31, 2023, encompassing the fiscal year 2022-23, currently under audit.

From 2016-17 to 2022-23, the state government borrowed loans from various agencies including the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Warehouse Infrastructure Fund (WIF), Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) and other Externally aided Projects (EAPs), the minister said.

During 2021-22 the state government borrowed a total loan of Rs 17148.41 crore and in 2022-23 it was Rs 25,902.16 crore, she added.