Tamil Nadu's debt position better than neighbouring states: Panneerselvam

State debt is expected to touch Rs 2,11,483 cr in FY16

The Tamil Nadu government today said the state’s debt position was not alarming and the debt-gross state domestic product (GSDP) ratio and the interest paid had been brought down in the last four years.

The state’s total debt is expected to touch Rs 211,483 crore in 2015-16.

Speaking in the Assembly today, chief minister O Panneerselvam said the state’s outstanding debt in 2014-15 was Rs 181,036 crore, and was expected to increase to Rs 211,483 crore in the next fiscal.

He said the debt-GSDP ratio had improved to 19.21 per cent in 2014-15, as against 19.84 per cent in 2011-12.

The chief minister said the state had repaid Rs 14,755 crore debt in 2014-15, and in 2015-16, it was expecting to pay Rs 17,139 crore, which is 12 per cent of state’s total revenue.

According to  Panneerselvam, in the last four years, the state borrowed Rs 79,687 crore and the capital expenditure during the period stood at Rs 79,528 crore.

Quoting Reserve Bank of India (RBI’s) data, he said, Tamil Nadu was one of the four states whose borrowing level was on the lower side.

Comparing Tamil Nadu’s debt position with that of the neighbouring states, he said in 2015-16, the debt-GSDP ratio of Andhra Pradesh was estimated to be around 25.05 per cent, Karnataka at 23.61 per cent, Kerala 26.95 per cent and West Bengal at 32.61 per cent.