Public debt reaches over Rs 2536 billion

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 19: As of mid-January in the current fiscal year, Nepal’s public debt has surpassed NPR 2,536 billion, accounting for over 44% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the Public Debt Management Office. In the past six months, the public debt has increased by NPR 102 billion.

At the start of 2024,25 on July 16, public debt stood at NPR 2,434.9 billion. By January 15, it had risen by NPR 102.3 billion to reach NPR 2,536.13 billion, representing 44.46% of the GDP.

Of the total public debt, foreign debt contributes 51.31%, amounting to NPR 1,301.41 billion, equivalent to 22.81% of the GDP. Domestic debt makes up 48.68%, or NPR 1,234.714 billion, which is 21.64% of the GDP.

The government set a target to raise NPR 547 billion in public debt for the current fiscal year (2082/83 BS) and has achieved NPR 240.8 billion, or 43.89% of the target, by mid-January. Of this, NPR 330 billion was earmarked for internal debt, of which NPR 181.5 billion (54.86%) has been raised. Similarly, NPR 217 billion was targeted for external loans, with NPR 59.3 billion (27.20%) raised by January 15.

For the fiscal year, the government allocated NPR 402.85 billion for principal and interest payments on public debt. By mid-January, NPR 182.4 billion had been spent on these payments, representing 3.20% of the GDP.