include market loans (dated securities), treasury bills (91, 182 and 364 days) and 14 day treasury
bills (issued to state governments only), cash management bills, special securities issued to the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), compensation and other bonds, non-negotiable and non-interest
bearing rupee securities issued to international financial institutions and securities issued under
market stabilization scheme with a view to reduce dependency on physical gold and reduce
imports.
External debt represents loans received from foreign governments and multilateral
institutions. The Union Government does not borrow directly from international capital markets.
Its foreign currency borrowing takes place from multilateral agencies and bilateral sources, and
is a part of official development assistance (ODA). At present, the Government of India does not
borrow in the international capital markets.
“Other” liabilities, not a part of public debt, includes other interest bearing obligations of the
government, such as post office saving deposits, deposits under small savings schemes, loans
raised through post office cash certificates, provident funds and certain other deposits.
The Reserve Bank manages the public debt of the Central and the state governments and
also acts as a banker to them under the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
(Section 20 and 21). It also undertakes similar functions for the state governments by agreement
with the Government of the respective state (under Section 21 A).
Reforms in Budget 2018-19
The Budget - 2018-19 contained major reforms, prominent among them are: ‘Operation
Green’ to address the price fluctuations in potato, tomato and onion; creation of two new funds
of ₹ 10,000 crore for fisheries and animal husbandry; re-structuring of National Bamboo
Mission; higher targets for Ujjwala, Saubhagya and Swachh Mission for free LPG connections,
electricity and toilets; outlay on health, education and social protection increased; Eklavya
Residential School for tribal students by 2022; fiscal deficit pegged at 3.5 per cent for 2018-19;
development of ten prominent sites as iconic tourist destinations; hike in deduction limit for
health insurance premium and / or medical expenditure from ₹ 30,000 to ₹ 50,000 under Section
80D; proposed changes in customs duty to promote creation of more jobs and to incentivise
domestic value addition and Make in India in sectors such as food processing, electronics, auto
components, footwear,furniture,etc.
From the Budget 2017-18 itself new reforms were firmed up for the first time. It contained
three major reforms. First, the presentation of the Budget was advanced to 1st February to enable
the Parliament to avoid a Vote on Account and pass a single Appropriation Bill for 2017-18,
before the close of the current financial year. This enabled the ministries and departments to
operationalise all schemes and projects, including the new schemes, right from the
commencement of the next financial year. They would be able to fully utilise the available
working season before the onset of the monsoon. Second, the merger of the Railways Budget
with the General Budget was a historic step. The colonial practice prevalent since 1924 was
discontinued. This decision brought the Railways to the centre stage of Government’s fiscal
policy and facilitated multi modal transport planning between railways, highways and inland
waterways. The functional autonomy of Railways will, however, continue. Third, the Plan and
non-Plan classification of expenditure has been done away with. This will give a holistic view of
allocations for sectors and ministries and would facilitate optimal allocation of resources.