FM: Reducing debt burden a priority for next decade

Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the priority of the government for next decade should be to reduce the debt burden and borrow only to build assets.

- RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI

Sitharaman's comment comes ahead of the Budget for the next financial year (FY26), to be presented in February next year, in which the government is expected to chart a new path towards debt targeting for the country from FY27 onwards, departing from the current practice of targeting the fiscal deficit.

The Finance Minister was speaking at the Global Economic Policy Forum organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

"It is important for us to debt. Covid manage our brought us such a situation where you had to borrow whether you liked it or not. We also borrowed. But we are super conscious of the fact that we can't burden our forthcoming generations with debt that is not sustainable. Debt is required but in the coming decade, the priority should be to manage your finances and borrow for building assets, but it can't be such borrowing that you leave the next generation worried about how they can service it," Sitharaman said.