Reiterating Kerala's stand on 'off-budget' borrowings, Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding that all balances in the Public Account of the State and the borrowings of State Government entities be excluded when reckoning the net borrowing ceiling of State Governments.
Mr. Balagopal's demand has come at a time when the Centre has been insisting that the 'off-budget' borrowings through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and the Kerala Social Security Pension Ltd (KSSPL) should be considered a part of the state debt and adjusted against the net borrowing ceiling.
