The National Democratic Alliance government in Andhra Pradesh, led by Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, has accused the previous YSR Congress Party government of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of heavy borrowing, which has pushed the state into a debt trap.
During the release of a white paper on state finances, Naidu stated in the state assembly that the Jagan government had borrowed around Rs 10 lakh crore, including outstanding payments owed to various corporations and power sector utilities.
However, the Naidu government also finds itself forced to rely on increasing borrowings to run the administration, including paying salaries. The claims of reducing the debt burden by creating wealth seem to be unsubstantiated.
According to the latest reports, the Naidu government has put up its government securities for auction at the Reserve Bank of India to raise Rs 3,000 crore in loans. A total of three securities, each valued at Rs 1,000 crore, will be auctioned through the RBI's core banking solution online platform, e-Kuber, on Tuesday.
The repayment schedule for these three government securities is set for 12 years, 17 years, and 22 years. The bonds can be purchased by individuals or institutions through competitive and non-competitive bids.
Bids can be placed between 10:30 am and 11:30 am on August 30 under competitive bidding, and between 10:00 am and 11:00 am on the same day under non-competitive bidding.
Since Naidu took office, his government has held four auctions of government securities to raise loans. The last auction took place on July 30, raising Rs 3,000 crore through the sale of state government securities.
This brings the total raised to Rs 12,000 crore since the TDP coalition government came to power. If the latest auction, which is the fifth, is completed, the total debt raised by the Naidu government in less than three months will amount to Rs 15,000 crore.