Every Malayali saddled with a debt of Rs 40,575

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Potentially, as a result of the state’s fiscal policy over the years, each of the 3.34 crore people in the state has been saddled with a debt as large as the cost of 300 kg of rice.

As on May 31 this year, the state's public debt stood at a stunning Rs 1,35,114.95 crore; a per capita debt of Rs 40,575, a sum good enough to purchase more than 300 kg of rice.

This is based on preliminary figures furnished by the Accountant-General,  said Finance Minister K.M. Mani in the Assembly on Thursday. Public debt had stood at Rs 78,673.24 crore on March 31, 2011, which means  over 70 percent increase in debt over a period of five years.

Borrowings which are repayable and on which interest accrues are classified as debt.  The debt of the state comprises  internal debt, loans and advances from central government and liabilities on account of small savings and provident fund deposits. 

The revenue has jumped from Rs 18,186.62 crore in 2006-07 to 57,936.83 crore in 2014-15. The grant-in-aid from the centre during this period has gone up from Rs 2,095.19 crore to Rs 7,508 crore, Mr Mani said.

The UDF government, after coming to power in May 2011, has borrowed a total of Rs 50,163 crore in 58 instalments from the market, he  said.

However, the state is not in a financial crisis, he said and added  that ‘financial constraints’ existed owing to the huge basic expenditures and the non-increase in tax revenue.

The government has adopted various measures for resource mobilization, including hiking the tax on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), beer and wine and cigarettes, he said.

The tax on all IMFL had been raised by 20 per cent. The tax on beer and wine was hiked from 50 per cent to 70 per cent  and that on cigarettes from 22 to 30 per cent.