Since 2010-11, the Central Government has been bringing out an annual Status Paper on public debt that provides a detailed analysis of the overall debt position of Government of India. This is the seventh edition of the Status Paper being released yesterday. 

This paper enhances transparency by providing a detailed account of debt operations and providing an assessment of the health of the public debt portfolio on internationally accepted debt performance indicators. The Paper also includes some developments in debt markets since last Status Paper, such as, setting up of Pubic Debt Management Cell (PDMC), as an interim arrangement before setting up PDMA for managing the public debt of Central Government. The overall liabilities of the Central Government are on a medium-term declining trajectory and Government’s debt portfolio is characterized by prudent risk profile. Government is primarily resorting to market linked borrowings for financing its fiscal deficit. Conventional indicators of debt sustainability, i.e. debt/ GDP ratio, interest payment to revenue receipts, share of short term debt, share of external debt, share of FRBs etc. indicate that debt profile of government is comfortably placed in terms of sustainability parameters of public debt and is consistently improving. 

The Status paper is available on Ministry of Finance’s website www.finmin.nic.in

Public debt transparency: annual status paper shows improving debt sustainability and reliance on market-linked financing. The seventh annual Status Paper on public debt provides a detailed account of central government liabilities, debt operations and portfolio risk, emphasising public debt transparency and institutional steps including an interim Public Debt Management Cell. It reports a medium-term declining trajectory of liabilities, a prudent risk profile, primary reliance on market-linked borrowings to finance the fiscal deficit, and favourable positions on conventional sustainability metrics such as debt-to-GDP, interest payments to revenue, short-term debt share, external debt share and floating rate borrowings.