The NITI Aayog Economic Health Index has concluded that AP scored zero marks in debt capacity during the YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s regime. This is revealed by the official debt calculations alone. One can imagine the level if the unofficial debts and pending bills are added.
The latest NITI Aayog report has broken the mold by saying that AP stood at the second position from the bottom in the list of 18 large states in the country in terms of the economic health index during Jagan’s rule. Moreover, it analyzed that the state’s debts had fallen to an unsustainable level during the then government.
The NITI Aayog report said that as far as AP is concerned, debts have increased in heaps. The key point is that the state’s financial situation has deteriorated to the point where they cannot be paid. NITI Aayog clarified that it has taken into account the statistics provided by the Comptroller and Auditor General to prepare this report.
The CAG submitted its report on the state’s financial situation in 2022-2023 last year. It revealed that the AP government had kept many debts secret and was not disclosing the figures to the Center, and that the details of loans with government guarantees were not being disclosed.
The CAG had already objected at that time that if the amounts of pending bills were also taken into account, the state’s debts and fiscal deficit would be even higher. Now it is clear that the NITI Aayog report also considered only the figures officially given by the state to the Center.
If unofficial debts, pending bills, and revenue expenditure in the accounts of various corporations were also taken into account, it is said that the state’s financial picture would have been at a different level in the NITI Aayog’s calculations. The NITI Aayog report also mentioned that the then government tried to stay within fiscal limits by amending the FRBM Act from time to time.