Ramakanta Biswas

The total outstanding public debt of Odisha is estimated to climb to Rs 1,12401 crore in the financial year 2022-23 which is 15.6 per cent of the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GSDP), as per the budget documents presented in the State Assembly on Saturday.

State Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari today presented the annual budget of Rs 2 lakh crore for the year 2022-23.  

The government released the status paper on public debt in the State and said, "The total outstanding public debt of the State as per the revised estimate for FY 2021-22 stands at Rs 100813 crore which is 15.8% of the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GSDP). The Fifteenth Finance Commission and Odisha FRBM Act, 2005 prescribe for limiting the debt to GSDP ratio within 25%. The current debt level of Odisha is within the stipulated debt limit."

"The Fifteenth Finance Commission and Odisha FRBM Act, 2005 prescribe for limiting the debt to GSDP ratio within 25%. The current debt level of Odisha is within the stipulated debt limit," the status paper revealed.

The government said the future debt outlook of the State looks to be within the sustainable level.

"In the medium term, the total debt to GSDP ratio of the State is projected to reach to a level of 18.1% in the financial year 2025-26, which will be within the stipulated limit of 25%. For FY 2022-23, it is estimated that the total debt stock will be Rs. 112401 crore which is 15.6% of GSDP," the government said.

"The fiscal deficit stands at 0.4% of GSDP and the interest payment to revenue receipts (IPRR) stands at 4.3% for the financial year 2021-22, well within limit of 15% set by the FRBM Act. As per the budget estimate for FY 2022-23, fiscal deficit and IPRR are estimated to be 3.0 % and 5.2% respectively," the government statement added.

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