Govt’s debt increased by 92 pc in 4 years

Nasiruddin Ahmed : The government regularly borrows to meet the budget deficit. For shortfall in revenue, the government borrows from various sources to meet its day-to-day expenditure. Besides, the government is taking loans every year from different sources, both domestic and foreign, for the implementation of development projects. This increases the debt burden of the government. In the span of four years, the debt status of the government has increased by almost 92 percent.
This information has emerged in a recently published report of Bangladesh Bank. It can be seen that the total debt of the government for the fiscal year 2018-19 was Tk 8 lakh 73 thousand 235 crore 66 lakh. In the fiscal year 2022-23 it has increased to Tk 16 lakh 74 thousand 263 crore 14 lakh. That is, the four-year loan status has increased by Tk 8 lakh 1 thousand 27 crore 48 lakh or 91.73 percent.
Analyzing the debt of the government, it can be seen that in the total debt of the government in the financial year 2018-19, the bank sector was Tk 1 lakh 99 thousand 363 crore 65 lakh. Out of this, the debt due to treasury bills was Tk 44,076.45 crore and Tk 1 lakh 55 thousand 287 crores 20 lakhs in treasury bonds. In that fiscal year, the government’s debt from savings bonds was Tk 28,926.78. And the amount of foreign debt was Tk 3 lakh 84 thousand 604 crore 13 lakh.
In the next financial year, the total debt of the government increased to Tk 10 lakh 21 thousand 777 crore 15 lakh. Out of this, the bank sector was Tk 2 lakh 79 thousand 601 crore 97 lakh. Within this sector, the debt due to treasury bill was Tk 62,783.52 crore and treasury bond was Tk 2 lakh 16 thousand 818 crore 45 lakh. In that fiscal year, the government’s debt from savings bonds increased to Tk 3,369.62 crore and foreign debt to Tk 43,847.89 crore.
In the financial year 2019-20, the debt status of the government has increased by Tk 1 lakh 48 thousand 541 crore 49 lakh or 17 percent. In fiscal year 2020-21, the amount of government debt increased by Tk 1 lakh 54 thousand 432 crore or 15.11 percent. In that financial year, the total debt of the government stood at Tk 11 lakh 76 thousand 209 crore 16 lakh.
Among the total loans, the bank sector was Tk 3 lakh 19 thousand 187 crore 30 lakh. Out of this, the debt due to treasury bill increased to Tk 51,268.85 crore and Tk 2 lakh 67 thousand 918 crore 45 lakh in treasury bond. In addition, the government took a loan of Tk 8000 crore from Sukuk for the first time in that financial year. In addition, the government’s debt from savings bonds increased to Tk 34,565.57 crore and foreign debt to Tk 533.60 crore in fiscal year 2020-21.
In the financial year 2021-22, the total debt of the government increased to Tk 14 lakh 26 thousand 150 crore 34 lakh. In that financial year, the loan amount increased to a record of 249,941,180 crores or 21.25 percent. Among the total loans, the bank sector was Tk 3 lakh 89 thousand 298 crore 47 lakh. Out of this, the debt due to treasury bill increased to 77 thousand 23 crore 87 lakh taka and treasury bond 3 lakh 12 thousand 274 crore 60 lakh taka.
Apart from this, another 10 thousand crore rupees loan was taken from Sukuk that fiscal year. In this, the loan status taken from sukuk increased to 18 thousand crores. And in that fiscal year, the government’s debt from savings bonds stood at Tk 3,65,571,520,000 and foreign debt at Tk 6,53,280,350,000.
Meanwhile, the government’s debt increased by Tk24,811.28 crore or 17.40 percent in the last financial year. Among the total loans, the bank sector had Tk4 lakh 89 thousand 763 crore 34 lakh. Out of this, the debt due to treasury bill increased to Tk1 lakh 23 thousand 680 crore 51 lakh and Tk3 lakh 66 thousand 82 crore 83 lakh in treasury bond. However, no loan was taken by issuing sukuk last financial year.
Apart from this, the government’s debt from savings bonds for the fiscal year 2022-23 has slightly reduced to Tk 36,248.25 crore. However, the foreign debt increased to Tk8 lakh 4 thousand 17 crore 21 lakh.
Analysis of accounts shows that the government’s treasury bond debt has increased by Tk79,604.06 crore or 180.60 percent in the span of four years. During this time, the debt in the treasury bill increased by Tk2 lakh 10 lakh 795 crore 63 lakh or 135.75 percent. Besides, the foreign debt has increased by Tk4 lakh 19 thousand 413 crore eight lakh or 109.05 percent. However, the least increase was the loan in savings certificates, which amounted to Tk73,214.71 crore or 25.31 percent.