Himachal debt 2026: how much the state owes
AS OF 3 Sept 2026
At the end of March 2025, Himachal's total liabilities were Rs 1,04,410.57 crore, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General's audit. On CAG's own debt measure the debt is 44% of the state's yearly economic output (GSDP), and in the RBI's table the share has stayed between 43% and 45% since 2021. The 2026-27 budget plans for it to ease to 40.5%.
Debt as a share of GSDP · end of March
RE = revised estimate, BE = budget estimate. Earlier: 57.4% in 2008 and 35.5% in 2013. This is RBI's measure; CAG's and PRS's measures differ, see Key figures.
Key figures
Total liabilities, end-March 2025 (CAG's full total: loans plus money the state holds for others, such as provident funds)
Rs 1,04,410.57 crore, up from Rs 96,522.97 crore a year earlier (+8.2%, our arithmetic)
- As of
- 31 Mar 2025 (CAG report laid before the Vidhan Sabha on 3 Sep 2026)
- Source
- CAG State Finances Audit Report 2024-25 (Report No. 2 of 2026), Table 1.4; PSU Watch gives the same total
CAG's debt measure, used for the ratio to GSDP
Rs 1,02,187.62 crore, 44.11% of GSDP
What the liabilities are made of (Rs crore, end-March 2024 to end-March 2025)
Internal debt (what the state borrowed itself) 61,439.29 to 67,448.38, up 9.78%; loans from the Centre 8,929.83 to 8,106.15; small savings and provident funds 19,337.58 to 20,867.39; deposits 3,645.97 to 4,030.03; reserve funds 2,279.77 to 2,879.44; contingency fund, remittances and suspense balances 890.53 to 1,079.18; total 96,522.97 to 1,04,410.57
- As of
- 31 Mar 2024 and 31 Mar 2025
- Source
- CAG State Finances Audit Report 2024-25 (Report No. 2 of 2026), Table 1.4
Liabilities as a share of GSDP, year by year (RBI)
End-March: 2020 39.1%; 2021 45.4%; 2022 43.1%; 2023 45.2%; 2024 44.8%; 2025 (revised estimate) 43.6%; 2026 (budget estimate) 42.8%. Further back: 57.4% in 2008 and 35.5% in 2013
- As of
- RBI study published 23 Jan 2026; 2025 is a revised estimate, 2026 a budget estimate
- Source
- RBI, State Finances: A Study of Budgets, Statement 20
Debt-to-GSDP ratio: CAG's measure and PRS's
CAG: 2019-20 39.09%; 2020-21 44.30%; 2021-22 40.15%; 2022-23 42.86%; 2023-24 43.98%; 2024-25 44.11% (as reported). From 2020-21 to 2023-24 these leave out the Centre's back-to-back loans. PRS, which leaves out the Centre's 50-year interest-free loans: 2020-21 45%; 2021-22 42%; 2022-23 44%; 2023-24 44%; 2024-25 44%
How Himachal compares
On RBI's table (end-March 2025, revised estimates) Himachal is fourth highest of the 28 states by our count: Arunachal Pradesh 55.4%, Nagaland 49.4%, Punjab 46.9%, then Himachal 43.6%. Two other neighbouring states: Haryana 30.2%, Uttarakhand 25.3%. On PRS's measure, which leaves out the Centre's 50-year interest-free loans, Himachal is second of 30 states and UTs (44%), after Punjab (46%). The rank depends on the measure
- As of
- RBI study published 23 Jan 2026; PRS State of State Finances, Oct 2025 (budget estimates)
- Source
- RBI, State Finances: A Study of Budgets, Statement 20 (ranking is our count); PRS, State of State Finances, Figure 31
Borrowing, repayment and interest in 2024-25
Borrowed Rs 26,622 crore; Rs 18,169 crore of it (68%) went to repay earlier borrowings. Interest paid Rs 6,261 crore, 15.3% of revenue receipts (our arithmetic)
- As of
- FY 2024-25 (actual)
- Source
- CAG State Finances Audit Report 2024-25 as reported by The Policy Edge and ETV Bharat; PRS Legislative Research
Fiscal deficit (borrowing needed beyond income, before repaying old loans)
2023-24 Rs 11,265.73 crore (5.31% of GSDP); 2024-25 Rs 12,611.05 crore (5.44%); 2025-26 budgeted Rs 10,337 crore (4.0%), revised to Rs 16,708 crore (6.6%); 2026-27 budgeted Rs 9,698 crore (3.5%). The 16th Finance Commission recommends 3% for states in 2026-31
- As of
- 2024-25 actual; 2025-26 revised estimate; 2026-27 budget estimate (presented 21 Mar 2026)
- Source
- CAG State Finances Audit Report 2024-25 (2023-24 and 2024-25); PRS Legislative Research (2025-26 and 2026-27)
What the 2026-27 budget plans
Liabilities 41% of GSDP at the end of 2025-26 (revised) and 40.5% at the end of 2026-27 (budget estimate). Planned borrowing Rs 11,965 crore against Rs 4,840 crore of repayment. For 2025-26 the revised figures are Rs 41,173 crore and Rs 32,004 crore, which PRS attributes to higher short-term advances from the RBI and their repayment
- As of
- Budget presented 21 Mar 2026
- Source
- PRS Legislative Research
Government guarantees (a promise to repay if another body cannot)
Rs 3,100 crore, 1.34% of GSDP
- As of
- March 2025
- Source
- PRS Legislative Research
Revenue deficit grants from the Centre (15th Finance Commission)
2021-22 Rs 10,249 crore (6.0% of GSDP); 2022-23 Rs 9,377 crore (4.9%); 2023-24 Rs 8,058 crore (3.8%); 2024-25 Rs 6,258 crore (2.7%); 2025-26 Rs 3,257 crore (1.3%). The 16th Finance Commission discontinued these grants, so there is none for 2026-27
- As of
- Budget presented 21 Mar 2026
- Source
- PRS Legislative Research
What we left out and why
We do not say why the debt rose or who is responsible; we have not tried to settle the reasons. We give no per-person figure, because that needs a population estimate we have not sourced. Guarantees are shown separately from the totals. Numbers differ by source and by measure, so each is shown with its source and we do not pick between them. CAG's full total of liabilities (Table 1.4) counts small items such as the contingency fund, remittances and suspense balances. The Centre's loans in it include 'back-to-back' loans given in place of GST compensation: the table's footnote lists Rs 4,412.22 crore for 2023-24 and Rs 1,144.28 crore for 2024-25. CAG's own debt ratios leave those loans out, because the Department of Expenditure decided they will not be treated as state debt for Finance Commission norms, and the report says the State does not repay them from its own sources. The Rs 1,02,187.62 crore and 44.11% for 2024-25 come from two news reports of CAG's debt section, which we could not open. The Rs 2,222.95 crore gap to the Table 1.4 total is within Rs 0.51 crore of those small items (Rs 1,079.18 crore) plus the Rs 1,144.28 crore, so by our arithmetic it is the same debt counted more narrowly. That is our reading, not CAG's statement. RBI and PRS use their own GSDP estimates and different budget years, and PRS leaves out the Centre's 50-year interest-free loans, so Himachal's rank changes with the measure. The RBI ranking is our count of the 28 states; the all-India row is a share of GDP, not GSDP, so we do not compare Himachal with it.
Sources
- CAG, State Finances Audit Report 2024-25, Government of Himachal Pradesh (Report No. 2 of 2026), laid before the Vidhan Sabha on 3 Sep 20263 Sept 2026
- CAG, State Finances Audit Report 2023-24, Government of Himachal Pradesh (Report No. 1 of 2025)29 Aug 2025
- RBI, State Finances: A Study of Budgets (Statement 20, outstanding liabilities as per cent of GSDP)23 Jan 2026
- PRS Legislative Research, Himachal Pradesh Budget Analysis 2026-2721 Mar 2026
- PRS Legislative Research, State of State Finances (October 2025)
- The Policy Edge, Himachal's liabilities cross Rs 1 lakh crore as rigid spending squeezes investment, CAG finds4 Sept 2026
- ETV Bharat (Hindi), report on the CAG State Finances report tabled in the monsoon session3 Sept 2026
- PSU Watch, Himachal's fiscal stress deepens as debt tops Rs 1 lakh crore3 Sept 2026
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