The total public debt of the government increased by 1.3% to Rs 29,21,360 crore at end of the fourth quarter of 2010-11, from Rs 28,83,880 crore in Q3 ended December.
The government's debt constitutes both internal and external debt.
While the government papers of various maturities, including securities issued to international financial institutions, are classified as internal debt, the external debt comprises funds raised from bilateral and multilateral agencies, including the IMF.
Internal debt constituted 89.7% of public debt, marginally higher than 89.5% at end of Q3, a quarterly report of Finance Ministry on Public Debt Management said.
The outstanding internal debt of the government at Rs 26,19,594 crore constituted 33.3% of the GDP, compared with 32.8% at end of December 2010, it said.
External debt amounted to Rs 3,01,766 crore as of March-end.
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The report said the actual information on government finances is available for the period April-February 2011, which indicates improved performance in terms of all the key deficit indicators.
All the key deficit indicators during April-February 2010-11, as percentage of revised estimates (RE) for 2010-11, were lower than their levels during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal because of higher revenue collections as well as containment in expenditure.
"While the improvement in non-tax revenue was mainly due to interest receipts and dividends and profits, improvement in tax revenue was primarily contributed by indirect taxes," it said.
Inflows on account of foreign investment were lower during the months of January and February, mainly on account of portfolio investments by FIIs.
"The month of February 2011 witnessed net outflow of foreign investment due to FIIs investment," the report said.
The rupee depreciated during the first two months of the quarter from Rs 44.81 per USD at end-December to Rs 45.2 per USD at end-February. It, however, appreciated in March, to close the month at Rs 44.7 per USD.
The report further said foreign banks continued to be the dominant trading institution, accounting for 32% of total outright trading activity of the central government dated securities.
Share of primary dealers and private sector banks was constant at 22% and 12%, respectively, while the share of public sector banks increased from 17% to 22%.