Per capita external debt up 17.55 per cent at Rs 21,493

NEW DELHI: Rise in NRI deposits pushed up India's per capita external debt by 17.55 per cent to Rs 21,493 in one year period ending March 2014, government said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

"The per capita external debt was estimated at Rs 18,283 in 2012-13 and Rs 21,493 in 2013-14," Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply.

The total external debt increased to $440.6 billion during the last fiscal, from $409.4 billion in 2012-13.

India paid $11.2 billion on the external debt in the last fiscal. The interest component was $10.9 billion in 2012-13.

Sitharaman said: "The rise in external debt in 2013-14 was largely due to increase in Non-Resident Indian (NRI) deposits, which is mainly attributable to mobilisation of fresh Foreign Currency Non-Resident Deposit (Banks) [FCNRB(B) deposits by commercial banks under the special limited period swap scheme offered by the RBI to boost net capital flows into India."

She said the external debt management policy followed by the government emphasises monitoring of long and short term debt and raising sovereign loans on concessional terms with long term maturities.

The policy also emphasises on regulating external commercial borrowings through end-use and all-in-cost restrictions and rationalising interest rates on NRI deposits.