Ratio of India's public debt to GDP likely to scale a new high in FY21

The ratio of India’s public debt to GDP is expected to scale a new high at the end of FY21 due to record borrowing by the central and state governments and an expected contraction in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) during the fiscal year.

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the combined liabilities of the Centre and the state governments were around Rs 147 trillion at the end of March 2020, and that translated into a public debt to GDP ratio of 72.1 per cent at the end of last fiscal year (given the nominal GDP