Govt's Liabilities Rises 2.6 Per Cent To Rs 150.95 lakh Crore In December Quarter Of FY23

In absolute terms, the total liabilities, including liabilities under the 'Public Account' of the government, jumped to Rs 1,50,95,970.8 crore at the end of December 2022

The latest public debt management report by the Ministry of Finance showed that the government's total liabilities rose to Rs 150.95 lakh crore in the December quarter compared to Rs 147.19 lakh crore in the three months ended September 2022. This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.6 per cent in Q3 of FY23. 

In absolute terms, the total liabilities, including liabilities under the 'Public Account' of the government, jumped to Rs 1,50,95,970.8 crore at the end of December 2022. As of September 30, the total liabilities stood at Rs 1,47,19,572.2 crore.

Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC), Budget Division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance has been releasing a quarterly report on debt management on a regular basis.

According to the latest report,  public debt accounts for 89 per cent of the total outstanding liabilities in the December quarter, compared to 89.1 per cent at the end of September. Nearly 28.29 per cent of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years.

During Q3 of FY23, the central government raised an amount worth Rs 3,51,000 crore through dated securities, as against the notified amount of Rs 3,18,000 crore in the borrowing calendar, the report said. 

During the quarter an amount of Rs 85, 377.9 crores due for redemption was repaid on the maturity date.

The weighted average yield of primary issuances hardened to 7.38 per cent in Q3 FY23 from 7.33 per cent in Q2 of FY23.

The weighted average maturity of new issuances of dated securities elongated to 16.56 years in Q3 of FY23 as compared to 15.62 years in Q2 of FY23.

During October-December 2022, the central government did not raise any amount through the Cash Management Bills. The Reserve Bank did not conduct Open Market operations for government securities during the quarter, the statement said. 

The net daily average liquidity absorption by RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) including Marginal Standing Facility and Special Liquidity Facility was at Rs 39,604 crore during the quarter.

On the yield of dated securities, the report said, the interest rate on 10-year benchmark security softened from 7.40 per cent at the close of the quarter on September 30, 2022, to 7.33 per cent at the close on December 30, 2022, thus softening by 7 basis points during the quarter.

On December 7, 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to hike the policy repo rate by 35 basis points, from 5.90 per cent to 6.25 per cent largely with an intention to contain inflation.