Kerala has highest per capita debt in southern India

Thursday, 19 February 2009, 23:01 IST
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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's 2006 per capita debt stood at over 14,300 - the highest among states in south India - against the national average of around 9,000. This was stated in the Economic Review 2008 tabled in the Kerala Assembly Thursday. Among the south Indian states, Kerala is followed by Andhra Pradesh with a per capita debt of around 9,300, Tamil Nadu with about 8,600, and Karnataka with about 8,500. Kerala's per capita debt has been increasing steadily; it was about 8,400 in 2002, 9,700 in 2003, nearly 11,000 in 2004, and about 12,700 in 2005. This increase comes at a time when the total public debt of the state, according to the 2008-09 budget estimate, is around 61,600 crore, up from 55,400 crore for 2007-08. The state's public debt for 2008-09 includes an internal debt of around 38,600 crore, small savings provident fund of 17,100 crore, and loans and advances of about 5,900 crore from the central government.
Source: IANS