Finance Minister Thangam Tennarasu presented the budget for the financial year 2024-25 of the Tamil Nadu government on February 19.
In this, the opposition parties are making strong criticisms about the loans of the Tamil Nadu government. That is, the direct loans of the Tamil Nadu government have increased to 8,33,361 crore rupees. This is 26.41 percent of the total production of Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu government owes around Rs 49,638 crore as of 2024–25. Since there aren't enough money for this, a borrowing target of Rs 1,55,584 crore has been established.
As a result, it is expected that the Tamil Nadu government will owe Rs 8,33,361.80 crore at the conclusion of the 2024–25 financial year. The Tamil Nadu government owed Rs 7,26,028 crore last year.
Opposition parties have strongly criticized the debt burden of the Tamil Nadu government.
In response, Finance Minister Thangam Thanara stated, "There is nothing wrong with a government taking a loan. Governments all over the world implement projects by borrowing funds. However, it is essential for the government to ensure repayment of the debt obtained. This is how the DMK government is functioning".
In the financial year 2011-12, the debt of the Tamil Nadu government was Rs 1,30,630 crore. Under the ADMK government, this debt gradually increased to Rs 4,85,502 crore by the financial year 2020-21.
Meanwhile, while the central government's debt was Rs 54 lakh crore in 2014, it has surged to over Rs 205 lakh crore in the span of 10 years. Opposition leader Edappadi Palaniswami has remained silent about this issue says Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu.
The budget estimates project that the debt of the Tamil Nadu government will escalate to Rs 8,33,361.80 crore.
The central government carries two types of debt: Domestic debt and Foreign debt.
As per the budget unveiled on February 1, the domestic debt is projected to reach Rs 163,35,070.06 crore, while the foreign debt is anticipated to be Rs 5,37,484.10 crore by the conclusion of the financial year 2024. Consequently, the total loans are estimated to amount to Rs 168,72,554.16 crore.
Subsequently, by the conclusion of 2025, the domestic debt is predicted to reach Rs 177,92,204.95 crore, with the foreign debt expected to amount to Rs 5,74,927.51 crore.
Consequently, the total loans are projected to increase to Rs 183,67,132.46 crore.
However, considering the fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, the total borrowings of the Indian government in 2024 stand at Rs 172.37 lakh crore. These loans are estimated to escalate to Rs 187.35 lakh crore in 2025.
If we compare the financial year 2024 with the financial year 2025, the debts of the Tamil Nadu government have increased by about 14.8 percent.
On the other hand, central government borrowings rose by around 8.7 percent.
For the Tamil Nadu government, the ratio of debt to gross output is 26.41 percent. However, the ratio of debt to the total production of the Government of India is 82.4 percent.
In comparison to other states, according to data released by the Reserve Bank, Maharashtra's debt burden stood at Rs 6.8 lakh crore, Uttar Pradesh at Rs 7.10 lakh crore, and West Bengal at Rs 6.04 lakh crore by the end of the financial year 2023.
When examining the loan amounts of other state governments in our country, it's evident that they exceed those of our state.
Based on these figures, it becomes evident which entity, whether the central government or the Tamil Nadu government, has borrowed more.