Gujarat public debt to cross ₹3 lakh cr in two years  

The Gujarat government's cumulative public debt has shot up to an astronomical ₹2,40,651 crore in 2018-19 and estimated to rise to ₹2,66,990 crore in the current financial year, which is ₹62,000 crore more than the total budget of ₹2,04,815 crore presented by state Finance Minister Nitin Patel here on Tuesday for 2019-20.

According to the statement by the government, under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2005, submitted in the Assembly, the state's estimated public debt of ₹2,66,990 crore for 2019-20 is expected to rise to ₹2,99,990 crore in 2020-21 and to a whopping ₹3,34,990 crore by the end of 2021-22.

Gujarat's public debt has been consistently rising year-on-year since 2004-05 when it was ₹16,401 crore that year, except for 2006-07 and the next year. The state's cumulative public debt was ₹1,99,338 crore in 2016-17, which, by an increase of 6.64 per cent, rose to ₹2,12,591 crore in 2017-18 and to ₹2,40,651 crore in 2018-19, which is a whopping 13.19 per cent rise.

The total public debt of ₹2,40,651 crore as on 2018-19 comprises ₹1,79,353 crore from market borrowings and power bonds, ₹39,385 crore from National Small Savings Fund loans, ₹14,690 crore loans from financial institutions and banks and ₹7,223 crore from loans and advances from the Central government.

Against this, the Gujarat government has seen constant increases in its revenues over the years. The state's revenue receipts have increased from ₹20,265 crore in 2004-05 to ₹1,40,532 in 2018-19 as per the revised estimates, with about ₹10,000 crore average annual rise during the past decade.