PANJIM: With Centre increasing the borrowing limits for States to five per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from three per cent at present, the State’s borrowing limit will cross Rs 4,000 crore during the upcoming financial year 2021-22. However, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said that State will borrow less.
Addressing the media persons on Monday, Sawant also said that State intends to take Rs 750 to Rs 1000 crore loan under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIFD) from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for the next financial year 2021-22. For the current Financial Year, State has borrowed Rs 250 crore under RIFD.
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Even as the petrol prices are skyrocketing, the State government has ruled out any plans to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol, which is currently 25 per cent.
Speaking in the presence of Finance Secretary Puneet Kumar, the Chief Minister said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre had increased the State’s borrowing limit from three per cent to five per cent; according to which, for the current financial year, our limit touched Rs 3,900 crore.
“However, we have borrowed only Rs 2600 crore to Rs 2700 crore for the current fiscal, which is much below the prescribed limit for the State,” he said.
He further said that with continuing five per cent limit, as announced in the Union Budget, State borrowing limit will cross Rs 4,000 mark in the coming financial year.
“Despite that, we will borrow less,” he added.
Referring to Union Budget’s Rs 40,000 crore allocations to RIDF, Sawant expects a big boost for the State.
“For the current financial year, we have borrowed Rs 250 crore under RIDF from NABARD. We get RIDF loan at an interest rate of two per cent,” he said.
We have already informed NABARD, that with focus on rural infrastructure development in the coming year, State will need at least Rs 750 crore to Rs 1000 crore loan under RIDF, the Chief Minister said.
“The fund will be utilised towards rural infrastructure creation in form of electricity, water supply, road infrastructure, connectivity, etc,” he said.
