India News | Budget: Gujarat Public Debt of Rs 3.4L Cr Well Within Prescribed Limits, Say Officials

Gandhinagar, Feb 24 (PTI) Gujarat's public debt stands at Rs 3.4 lakh crore, though it is well within the prescribed limit as the state can bear a debt of Rs 5.75 lakh crore as per calculations based on GSDP, a top official said on Friday after the Budget was presented in the Assembly.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat on Friday presented a Rs 3.01 lakh crore budget, which among other things provides for doubling of insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and a 91 per cent increase in capital expenditure.

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Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai presented the budget for 2023-24, which proposed no new taxes, in the Assembly on the second day of the Budget Session.

"Our earlier estimates had suggested Gujarat's public debt will be Rs 3,50,000 crore. But as per the latest revised estimates, it stands at Rs 3,40,000 crore. By the next year, it would go up to Rs 3,81,000 crore as per our estimates, said Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary (Economic Affairs), state Finance Department.

Explaining further, JP Gupta, Principal Secretary in the Finance Department, said a state's public debt should be less than 27 per cent of the its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

"Our GSDP is Rs 22 lakh crore at present. At 27 per cent, we can bear a debt of Rs 5.75 lakh crore. However, Gujarat's debt is under Rs 3.5 lakh crore," Gupta told reporters.

Gupta said the state's fiscal deficit was also under control.

"As per rules, fiscal deficit should not be more than 3 per cent of GSDP. Currently, ours is 1.75 per cent and it was 1.64 per cent last year," Gupta said.

Meanwhile, Khandhar said Gujarat was aiming to increase its GSDP to Rs 42 lakh crore in the next five years and Rs 83 lakh crore in the next ten years.

Gujarat's contribution to the country's GDP is currently 8.36 per cent and we want to take it to 10 per cent in the coming years, she said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)