Odisha’s debt burden will increase to Rs 56,640 crore by the end of 2015-16 mainly due to a budgetary provision of the State Government to borrow over Rs 12,800 crore this fiscal from different sources.
According to officials, the Government intends to borrow Rs 1,634 crore from the Centre, Rs 300 crore from the National Small Savings Fund, Rs 800 crore from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, Rs 2,710 crore from the NABARD and other sources and Rs. 7,356.38 crore from the open market.
The State’s debt was Rs 3,870.84 crore during the year 1989-90. It made payment Rs 143.76 crore as principal amount and Rs 310.34 crore as interest.
The debt was increased to Rs 18,100.78 crore in 1999-2000 when Rs 386.9 crore and Rs 1237.70 crore were paid as principal and interest, respectively.
The debt amount further rose to Rs 37,730.4 crore in 2009-10, and the State paid Rs 1,488.69 crore principal amount and Rs 3,044.17-crore interest that year.
In the last fiscal, the debt amount went up to Rs 43,271.38 crore and the Government had to pay Rs 3,029.40 crore principal and Rs 2,810.27-crore interest.
The Government raised Rs 637.37 crore of loan in 1989-90, Rs 1,243.94 crore in 1994-95, Rs 3,735.75 crore in 1999-2000, Rs 4,669.89 crore in 2004-05, Rs 2,788.19 crore in 2009-10 and Rs 7,636.54 crore in 2014-15 from various sources.
Despite the Government’s claims on improved revenue generation, 45 per cent of its income is being spent on repaying loans.