9th Edition of the Status Paper on Government Debt

News:The Central Government has released the Ninth Edition of the Status Paper on the Government Debt which provides a detailed analysis of the Overall Debt Position of the Government of India. 

Facts:

• The Central Government has been bringing-out a Status Paper on Government Debt since 2010-11.

Key Takeaways:

• Central Government’s Debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has dropped marginally by 0.1% from 45.8% in fiscal 2017-18 to 45.7% in fiscal 2018-19.
• General government Debt to GDP ratio which includes the combined debt of the Centre and states declined by 0.1% from 68.7% in March 2018 to 68.6% in March,2019.
• Government’s finances were largely protected from currency risks as external debt stood at 2.7% of GDP or Rs 5.12 lakh crore in FY19 
• Domestic Debt is around 94.1% of the Centre’s liabilities in FY19.Out of this, 84.4% of the domestic debt was made up of marketable securities.
• The tenure of the longest security was 37 years.