Bhubaneswar: The revenue of the states has been severely affected by the outbreak of the corona epidemic. States have become increasingly reliant on market loans to raise the funds needed to deal with the crisis. Between April 4 and September 7 this year, the Odisha government borrowed Rs 3,000 crore from the market. The state’s debt is up 50 percent from last year, according to a report released by Care Ratings. At the same time last year, the Odisha government had a market debt of Rs 2,000 crore.
Debts have risen in almost all states since the epidemic began, according to Care Ratings. States are taking out loans from the market by issuing State Development Loans (SDL4). From the first week of April this year to the first week of September, 26 states and two union territories in the country borrowed a total of Rs 2.6 lakh crore, up 51 per cent from the same amount of Rs 1.8 lakh crore in the same period last year. This year, 24 states have issued loans under the SDL4. The debt burden of six states increased by 50 per cent compared to last year, while the debt burden of five states increased by 20-41 per cent. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are the eight states that have borrowed less than last year. Karnataka has borrowed 45 per cent more than last year. Maharashtra has borrowed 200 per cent and Tamil Nadu 114 per cent.
