For six consecutive years between FY09 and FY14 under the UPA reign, the ratio of Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD) to GDP stood at 4.5%. Fiscal deficit was sanded down to 3.5% of GDP by FY17, and stayed pat for three years. As for the ratio of total external debt to Gross National Income (GNI), India emerges as the third least indebted country among all such economies, she reasoned. India's total external debt to its exports is 91.9%, positioning India as the fifth-least indebted nation among low and middle-income countries. According to Sitharaman, government debt is overwhelmingly rupee-denominated, with external borrowings from bilateral and multilateral sources comprising less than 5% of total debt.

Source: Indian Express May 17, 2024 21:53 UTC