Govt's gross liabilities up 3.4% at Rs 172 trn by March: Finance ministry

Total gross liabilities of the government increased to Rs 171.78 lakh crore at the end of March 2024 from Rs 166.14 lakh crore at December-end, the finance ministry has said.

This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 3.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023-24, said the public debt management quarterly report (January-March, 2024).

Public debt accounted for 90.2 per cent of total gross liabilities during the quarter, it said.

"During the quarter, the yield on Indian domestic bond softened on account of lower than anticipated borrowing plan announced in interim budget, adjustment of the fiscal deficit to 5.1 per cent of the GDP for FY25, a targeted reduction of the fiscal deficit at or below 4.5 per cent by FY26, FPI inflows and steady inflation," it said.

On the other hand, it said, US treasury yields remained volatile during the quarter mostly affected by Federal Reserve action, inflation, and employment data.

US 10-year yields touched a high of 4.33 per cent during the