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Rediff.com  » Business » DEBT: How much does India OWE to whom
This article was first published 13 years ago

DEBT: How much does India OWE to whom

Last updated on: August 10, 2011 16:13 IST

Image: A rating agency has warned it might downgrade India's repaying ability.
Rediff Business Desk


With the ratings agency Standard & Poor's warning that it could lower the sovereign ratings of India and some other nations too after having wreaked havoc in global markets following its downgrade of United States debt, the focus has suddenly turned towards the debt owed to various entities by the Indian government.

Although India's gross public debt to GDP ratio fell from 75.8 per cent to 66.2 per cent between 2007 and 2011, it still is among the highest in the region.

India's 66.2 per cent level compares with Malaysia's 55.1, Pakistan's 54.1, the Philippines' 47, Thailand's 43.7, Indonesia's 25.4 and China's 16.5, according to an analysis by Cornell economist Easwar Prasad in the Financial Times.

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DEBT: How much does India OWE to whom

Image: Much of India's debt is denominated in Indian rupees.
Much of India's debt is denominated in Indian rupees and is owed to resident agents and is unlikely to be affected by uncertainty in international debt and currency markets.

Secondly, the public debt is largely held by the banking system dominated by public sector banks and they are not expected to rock the government's boat.

But if a rating agency, such as S&P, does decide to focus on heavily indebted countries in Asia-Pacific, then India is right in the firing line.

Let us have a look at India's internal and external debt situation, based on Economic Survey data.

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Internal liabilities are Rs 33,57,772 crore.

Outstanding liabilities of the Central Government

Internal liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 19,33,544 crore (Rs. 19,335.44 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 33,57,772 crore (Rs. 33,577.72 billion)

a) Internal debt

2004-5: Rs. 12,75,971 crore (Rs. 12,759.71 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 23,56,940 crore (Rs. 23,569.4 billion)

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Market borrowings were Rs 7,66,897 crore in 2009-10.

i) Market borrowings

2004-5: Rs. 7,58,995 crore (Rs. 7,589.95 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 7,66,897 crore (Rs. 7,668.97 billion)

ii) Others

2004-5: Rs. 5,16,976 crore (Rs. 5169.76 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 5,90,043 crore (Rs. 5,900.43 billion)

b) Other internal liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 6,57,573 crore (Rs. 6,575.73 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 10,00,832 crore (Rs. 10,008.32 billion)

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: External debt was Rs 1,37,680 crore in 2009-10.

External debt (outstanding)

2004-5: Rs 586,305 crore (Rs 5,863.05 billion)

2010-10 (Sept end): Rs 1,332,195 crore (Rs 13,321.95 billion)

The components of India's external debt and the percentage they form of the total external debt are given hereunder:

  • Multilateral: 15.8 per cent of total external debt
  • Bilateral: 8.3  per cent of total external debt
  • IMF: 2.1 per cent of total external debt
  • Export credit: 6.2 per cent of total external debt
  • Commerical borrowings: 27.8  per cent of total external debt
  • NRI deposits: 16.9 per cent of total external debt
  • Rupee debt: 0.6 per cent of total external debt
  • Long-term debt: 77.7 per cent of total external debt
  • Short-term debt: 22.3  per cent of total external debt

External debt figures represent borrowings by Central Government from external sources and are based upon historical rates of exchange.

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Total outstanding liabilities were Rs 19,94,422 crore in 2004-5.

Total outstanding liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 19,94,422 crore (Rs. 19,944.22 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 34,95,452 core (Rs. 34,954.52 billion)

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Amount due from Pakistan Rs 300 crore.

Amount due from Pakistan on account of share of pre-partition debt

2004-5: Rs. 300 crore (Rs. 3 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 300 crore (Rs. 3 billion)

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Internal liabilities were Rs 54.5 crore.

Internal liabilities (as per cent of GDP)

2004-5: Rs. 59.7 crore (Rs. 597 million)

2009-10: Rs. 54.5 crore (Rs. 545 million)

a) Internal debt

2004-5: Rs. 39.4 crore (Rs. 394 million)

2009-10: Rs. 38.2 crore (Rs. 382 million)

...

India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Total outstanding liabilities were Rs 34,95,452 crore in 2009-10.

Total outstanding liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 19,94,422 crore (Rs. 19,944.22 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 34,95,452 crore (Rs. 34,954.52 billion)

...

India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Market borrowings were Rs 28.7 crore.

i) Market borrowings

2004-5: Rs. 23.4 crore (Rs. 234 million)

2009-10: Rs. 28.7 crore (Rs. 287 million)

ii) Others

2004-5: Rs. 16 crore (Rs. 160 million)

2009-10: Rs. 9.6 crore (96 million)

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India's debt: Govt owes how much to whom!

Image: Other internal liabilities were Rs 16.2 crore.

(b) Other internal liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 20.3 crore (Rs. 203 million)

2009-10: Rs. 16.2 crore (Rs. 162 million)

External debt (outstanding) (as per cent of GDP)

2004-5: Rs. 1.9 crore (Rs. 19 million)

2009-10: Rs. 2.2 crore (Rs. 22 million)

External debt figures represent borrowings by Central Government from external sources and are based upon historical rates of exchange.