DEBT: How much does India OWE to whom

With the ratings agency Standard & Poor's warning that it could lower the sovereign ratings of India and some other nations too after having wreaked havoc in global markets following its downgrade of United States debt, the focus has suddenly turned towards the debt owed to various entities by the Indian government.

Although India's gross public debt to GDP ratio fell from 75.8 per cent to 66.2 per cent between 2007 and 2011, it still is among the highest in the region.

India's 66.2 per cent level compares with Malaysia's 55.1, Pakistan's 54.1, the Philippines' 47, Thailand's 43.7, Indonesia's 25.4 and China's 16.5, according to an analysis by Cornell economist Easwar Prasad in the Financial Times.

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Much of India's debt is denominated in Indian rupees and is owed to resident agents and is unlikely to be affected by uncertainty in international debt and currency markets.

Secondly, the public debt is largely held by the banking system dominated by public sector banks and they are not expected to rock the government's boat.

But if a rating agency, such as S&P, does decide to focus on heavily indebted countries in Asia-Pacific, then India is right in the firing line.

Let us have a look at India's internal and external debt situation, based on Economic Survey data.

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Outstanding liabilities of the Central Government

Internal liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 19,33,544 crore (Rs. 19,335.44 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 33,57,772 crore (Rs. 33,577.72 billion)

a) Internal debt

2004-5: Rs. 12,75,971 crore (Rs. 12,759.71 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 23,56,940 crore (Rs. 23,569.4 billion)

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i) Market borrowings

2004-5: Rs. 7,58,995 crore (Rs. 7,589.95 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 7,66,897 crore (Rs. 7,668.97 billion)

ii) Others

2004-5: Rs. 5,16,976 crore (Rs. 5169.76 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 5,90,043 crore (Rs. 5,900.43 billion)

b) Other internal liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 6,57,573 crore (Rs. 6,575.73 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 10,00,832 crore (Rs. 10,008.32 billion)

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External debt (outstanding)

2004-5: Rs 586,305 crore (Rs 5,863.05 billion)

2010-10 (Sept end): Rs 1,332,195 crore (Rs 13,321.95 billion)

The components of India's external debt and the percentage they form of the total external debt are given hereunder:

• Multilateral: 15.8 per cent of total external debt
• Bilateral: 8.3  per cent of total external debt
• IMF: 2.1 per cent of total external debt
• Export credit: 6.2 per cent of total external debt
• Commerical borrowings: 27.8  per cent of total external debt
• NRI deposits: 16.9 per cent of total external debt
• Rupee debt: 0.6 per cent of total external debt
• Long-term debt: 77.7 per cent of total external debt
• Short-term debt: 22.3  per cent of total external debt

External debt figures represent borrowings by Central Government from external sources and are based upon historical rates of exchange.

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Total outstanding liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 19,94,422 crore (Rs. 19,944.22 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 34,95,452 core (Rs. 34,954.52 billion)

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Amount due from Pakistan on account of share of pre-partition debt

2004-5: Rs. 300 crore (Rs. 3 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 300 crore (Rs. 3 billion)

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Internal liabilities (as per cent of GDP)

2004-5: Rs. 59.7 crore (Rs. 597 million)

2009-10: Rs. 54.5 crore (Rs. 545 million)

a) Internal debt

2004-5: Rs. 39.4 crore (Rs. 394 million)

2009-10: Rs. 38.2 crore (Rs. 382 million)

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Total outstanding liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 19,94,422 crore (Rs. 19,944.22 billion)

2009-10: Rs. 34,95,452 crore (Rs. 34,954.52 billion)

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i) Market borrowings

2004-5: Rs. 23.4 crore (Rs. 234 million)

2009-10: Rs. 28.7 crore (Rs. 287 million)

ii) Others

2004-5: Rs. 16 crore (Rs. 160 million)

2009-10: Rs. 9.6 crore (96 million)

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(b) Other internal liabilities

2004-5: Rs. 20.3 crore (Rs. 203 million)

2009-10: Rs. 16.2 crore (Rs. 162 million)

External debt (outstanding) (as per cent of GDP)

2004-5: Rs. 1.9 crore (Rs. 19 million)

2009-10: Rs. 2.2 crore (Rs. 22 million)

External debt figures represent borrowings by Central Government from external sources and are based upon historical rates of exchange.