punjab-s-debt-to-gsdp-ratio-down-to-44-47-pc-cheema

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said the AAP government has reduced the state’s debt-to-GSDP ratio by four percentage points to 44.47 per cent. He also stated that nearly 85 per cent of the borrowings taken by the government are being used to service old debt accumulated during the previous SAD-BJP and Congress regimes.

 

Cheema dismissed the allegations made by opposition parties that have been targeting the AAP government over the rising state debt. He instead blamed earlier governments for pushing Punjab into what he described as a “debt trap”. The finance minister was speaking to mediapersons in Chandigarh while highlighting the achievements of his department ahead of the AAP government completing four years in office on March 16.

Comparing GST collections during the AAP government’s tenure with the previous Congress regime, Cheema said the state has mobilised tax revenue of Rs 83,739 crore over the past four years. He said that during the five-year rule of the Congress government in Punjab, the GST collection stood at Rs 61,286 crore. Cheema further stated that the state government mobilised excise revenue worth Rs 37,975 crore in the last four years.

In comparison, the excise revenue during the SAD-BJP government stood at Rs 20,545 crore, while during the Congress regime it was Rs 27,395 crore, he said. Speaking about the state’s outstanding debt, Cheema said that when the AAP came to power in 2022, Punjab was already burdened with a debt of nearly Rs 3 lakh crore left behind by the previous SAD-BJP and Congress governments.

"By servicing that debt, we have returned 35 per cent of the principal amount and 50 per cent of interest. Of the borrowings we took, 85 per cent was spent on servicing the old debt," he said. However, he said that despite this burden, the AAP government has managed to reduce the debt-to-Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ratio to 44.47 per cent from 48.25 per cent in 2022. He termed this reduction a major achievement for the state government.

Responding to a question, Cheema said Punjab was already caught in a “debt trap” during the tenure of the SAD-BJP and Congress governments. “We have brought it down. The debt-to-GSDP ratio has been reduced by 4 per cent,” the finance minister added.

 

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