Finance Minister admits loan burden of state increased, claims it good loan

Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Thursday announcing the festival grant and advance for government employees has admitted that the loan burden of the present state government has increased.

Replying to a media query, the Finance Minister said that during the last financial year(2017-18) of the Left Front government , the loan burden stood at 12,902.73 crore and now, in the financial year 2022-23 , it stands  at 21,687.07 crore.

Giving details of the financial positions of the state government, Singha Roy said that the annual budget of the then state government in the FY-2017-18 was Rs. 15,956.56 crore and it has increased to Rs. 26,892.67 crore in the FY 2022-23.

The  Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was Rs. 43,716 crore in FY-2017-18 and in the FY 2022-23 , it has been increased at Rs.74,100 crore, said Singha Roy and added that debt ratio of the state government in the FY-2017-18 stand at 29.51% and in the FY-2022-23 it has decreased to 29.27%.

The state recorded fiscal deficit of 3.25% in FY 2017-18, 5% in the financial year 2020-21, 4.5% in the FY 2021-22 and it has decreased to 4% in the FY-2022-23, said Singha Roy and tried to present the statements in support of his claims that loan burden of the state government though increased, but it is good loan.