Public debt is the debt owed by the government. Debt position of the government of India is expressed in term of government liabilities and public debt. Public debt is expressed as debt of the central government and debt combined (central and state governemnts).
Both ‘liabilities’ and ‘debt’ are used interchangeably to indicate public debt though there is slight difference. Public Debt implies debt contracted out of the Consolidated Fund of India. On the other hand, the term Government liabilities implies public debt (contracted against the Consolidated Fund of India) plus other liabilities based on the Public Account. Hence government liabilities will be higher than public debt.
