The internal debt of the government has increased from Rs 459,000 crore in 1998-99 to an estimated Rs 1.15 million crore in 2003-04, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
The internal debt stood at Rs 1.03 million crore in 2002-03 and rose to about Rs 1.15 million crore the next year, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said during Question Hour.
The interest paid on internal debt also rose from about Rs 39,832 crore (Rs 398.32 billion) in 1998-99 to Rs 69,545 crore (Rs 695.45 billion) in 1999-00, Rs 79,082 crore (Rs 790.82 billion) in 2000-01, Rs 88,506 crore (Rs 885.06 billion) in 2000-02 and Rs 97,251 crore (Rs 972.51 billion) in 2002-03, he said.
Replying to a question on inflation, he said the annual point to cent in early December last year to 6.17 per cent on April five this year.
The rate gradually rose in January and hit a peak of 5.35 on February seven but came down to 4.69 per cent by the month-end. It again rose to 5.99 on March 20 and 6.24 on March 27 and 6.17 on April five, Singh said.