Per capita loan burden in India is over Rs 25000

New Delhi, May 16 (UNI) Every Indian is burdened with loan amounting to over Rs 25000, which totals to four per cent of the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and attracts an interest of Rs 2,09,094 crore, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.

The per capita burden of Government liabilities, consisting of the Central and State governments, of both internal and external variety was Rs 25,723 in 2005-2006, Mr Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour.

The central government will have to pay Rs 1,39,823 crore as interest on loans in 2006-07, he said.

Replying to a supplementary, he said borrowing as such was not bad as long as the loan money was used with efficeincy and the country had ability to repay the loan.

The intiatives taken by the government to reduce burden include adherence to the objectives and targets of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM), 2003, enactment of fiscal responsibility legislations by 19 states, consolidation of the debts of 19 states and relief in the form of debt at lower interest rates and debt waiver for fiscal correction as per the 12th Finance Commission.

Besides, steps like maintaining soft interest rates through appropriate policies, restructuring debt through recourse to low cost market borrowings thereby reducing the carrying cost of debt and pursuing appropriate tax policies which result in higher tax-GDP ratio had been taken.

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