Hyderabad: Telangana government to adhere to strict fiscal discipline to beat the debt burden

Hyderabad : The Telangana government has adopted strict financial discipline to reduce the debt burden. Despite the state being eligible to avail borrowings in proportion to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the government is maintaining fiscal prudence.

According to the officials, the State government took corrective measures to bring the ruined economy on the right track. The government adopted financial discipline to pay the debts and interest on loans and is exercising cost control to ensure accountability for every rupee without overspending. The previous BRS government incurred Rs 7 lakh crore debt burden and the payment of interests and loans put a heavy burden on the state.

The officials said that ever since Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy assumed office in December 2023, the state government borrowed Rs 17,618 crore including all budget and non-budgetary loans. During the same period, the government made repayments (principal and interest) of Rs 25,911 crore. In addition, the debt burden imposed on the people of Telangana is being reduced.

The State Government spent an average of Rs 207 crore per day to repay the debts incurred by the previous government with interest in the last 125 days. Efforts are being made to reduce debt burden which has increased beyond the limits for the last 10 years. In addition to reducing the debt burden, government spent Rs 5,816 crore as capital expenditure for infrastructure development.

The newly-elected government is controlling the debt burden unlike the previous government. The government borrowed market loans within the budget limits and utilised them for plan and non-plan expenditure. It is a good sign that the debt burden has reduced compared to the past. Government borrowed Rs 15,968 crore in four months from December 2023 till the date. In the corresponding period in 2022-2023, the previous government borrowed Rs 19,569 crore and in 2021-22, it borrowed an amount of Rs 26,995 crore.

The government has estimated to borrow Rs 59,625 crore of loans in the vote on account in 2024- 2025 and borrowed only Rs 2,500 crore so far. Borrowing limit has increased due to substantial growth in GSDP. It is a good sign that the government was seeking less borrowing despite higher GSDP. This reflects the state government's commitment to maintain fiscal discipline, the officials said.