The state government has announced sale of Gujarat Government Stock (Securities) worth Rs 1,500 crore to finance its capital expenditure on schemes launched in the annual development plan for 2008-09. The tenure of the stock will be for 10 years, said a Finance department release.

The Reserve Bank of India will conduct the auction in Mumbai on January 6. The tenure of the stock will commence on January 7, 2009 and will be repaid on January 7, 2019. The government has achieved revenue surplus continuously since 2006-07 and has an estimated surplus of Rs 52.39 crore for 2008-09.

On the asset front, financial year 2006-07 closed with investments of Rs 795.05 crore in securities under general cash balance and Rs 4,413 crore in debt redemption and guarantee redemption fund under Consolidated Sinking Fund.

The net assets in

the form of loans and advances to co-operatives, local bodies, boards and corporations stand at Rs 4,240.74 crore, while investment

in statutory corporations, shares, bonds and the like stand at Rs 1,854.88 crore. The total assets amount to

Rs 27,963.65 crore.

On the liabilities side, debt liabilities used for development as on March 31, 2008 stood at Rs 78,870.75 crore, while contingent liabilities in the form of extended guarantees were Rs 10,251crore as on September 30, 2008. It

saw a drastic reduction from Rs 19,000 crore in 2002-03, the release said.

The debt to gross state domestic product (GSDP) ratio was brought down to 28.35 per cent at the end of 2006-07 and further to 26.98 per cent by 2008-09, against the target of 30 per cent by the end of 2007-08.

As on October 30, 2008, the Consolidated Sinking Fund, set up for redemption of debt from open market borrowing, stood at Rs 3,460 crore and is expected to grow by Rs 760 crore by March 2009.

The Guarantee Redemption Fund set up to service liabilities arising from invocation of guarantees, was Rs 1,724 crore (16.82 per cent of the total outstanding guarantees) as on September 30, 2008.

With a steady rise in revenue income and focused rationalisation of taxable and non-taxable sources clubbed with other fiscal measures, the government has achieved the deficit reduction target well ahead of time.

The state’s per capita

income has grown by 6.04

per cent from Rs 25,487 in 2005-06 to Rs 27,027 in 2006-07 and it is estimated at Rs 37,532 by 2007-08.