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The central government paid more than Rs 81 lakh crore towards interest and repayment of loans over the last six financial years from 2020-21 to 2025-26, the Parliament was told on Tuesday.
A written reply by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Rajya Sabha showed that the Centre paid a total of Rs 58.37 lakh crore as interest and Rs 22.80 lakh crore towards repayment of principal on dated Government Securities and external loans during the six-year period. Together, the total debt servicing amounted to Rs 81.17 lakh crore. The data showed that interest payments have increased steadily over the years. The government paid Rs 6.80 lakh crore as interest in 2020-21, which rose to Rs 8.05 lakh crore in 2021-22, Rs 9.29 lakh crore in 2022-23, Rs 10.64 lakh crore in 2023-24, Rs 11.16 lakh crore in 2024-25, and Rs 12.43 lakh crore in 2025-26 on a provisional basis. Repayment of principal also increased during the period. The government repaid Rs 2.62 lakh crore in 2020-21, followed by Rs 3.00 lakh crore in 2021-22, Rs 3.53 lakh crore in 2022-23, Rs 4.88 lakh crore in 2023-24, Rs 4.16 lakh crore in 2024-25, and Rs 4.61 lakh crore in 2025-26 on a provisional basis. The government has budgeted an interest payment of Rs 14.04 lakh crore and repayment of Rs 6.22 lakh crore during 2026-27, indicating that total debt servicing is expected to cross Rs 20 lakh crore in the current financial year. The reply also showed that the Union Government's total liabilities, as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act definition of debt, stood at Rs 201.17 lakh crore as on March 31, 2026 on a provisional basis. The government has projected the debt to rise to Rs 218.63 lakh crore by the end of 2026-27, according to the Budget Estimate. The government's external debt stood at Rs 9.89 lakh crore as on March 31, 2026, and is projected at Rs 9.64 lakh crore by the end of the current financial year. (ANI)
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