Domestic debt goes up by Rs6tr in FY23

KARACHI; The domestic debt of the central government increased by Rs6 trillion in the first 11 months of the outgoing FY23. Data issued on Wednesday by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that the PMLN-led government heavily relied upon borrowing to bridge the gap between its high spending and low revenues. According to the SBP data, the domestic debt of the central government rose to Rs37.054tr in May from Rs31.085tr, showing an increase of 19.2 per cent or Rs5.969tr. An unprecedented increase in debt servicing due to extensive borrowings has created serious imbalances in the budget for FY24. The government will spend around Rs7.302tr on debt servicing, more than half of the total budget outlay of Rs14.460tr for the current fiscal year. In the outgoing fiscal year, the government allocated Rs3.95tr, which was later revised to Rs5.520tr. Further details showed that the government borrowed half a trillion (Rs505bn) alone in May. It is believed in the financial circle that June’s figure (not released yet) would be much higher due to the settlement requirement being the closing month of the fiscal year.