DHAKA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government's interest payments against loans from both domestic and foreign sources surged 24.5 percent in the fiscal year 2023-24 (July 2023-June 2024), exceeding a record 1-trillion-taka mark for the first time in history.

According to the finance ministry's fiscal report released recently, over 114,000 crore taka was spent on interest payments in the 2024 fiscal, representing more than one-sixth of the national budget.

Interest payments for foreign loans increased 60.53 percent to 15,150 crore taka last year while rising 20.48 percent to 99,606 crore taka for domestic loans, local English newspaper The Daily Star reported.

While spending on subsidies decreased slightly, the government missed the revenue targets set by the International Monetary Fund for its ongoing 4.7 billion U.S. dollar loan program.

A finance ministry official said the government's annual borrowing to finance budget deficits had led to a growing stock of outstanding loans.

As of March 2024, the government's total outstanding debt stood at 1,697,415 crore taka, which is equivalent to 33.78 percent of the country's gross domestic product. (1 U.S. dollar equals about 120 taka) Enditem

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