Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, on Monday, stated that the government would sell T-bills worth MVR 506 million to reduce the deficit of MVR 986 million noted in the recently submitted supplementary budget.
Speaking at the parliament, the minister revealed that the figure of MVR 130 million to be granted to Male' Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) as revenue losses will be excluded from the company's dividend to the government. Therefore, he stated that no cash transaction will be conducted for this particular provision in the supplementary budget.
Furthermore, the economic minister stated that the MVR 350 million allocated to finance Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) was previously approved and would not cause an added burden even if the amount was included under deficit in the supplementary budget.
During the parliament session, MPs requested that government operations be tailored in a manner that would not disrupt private companies or the national reserve.
In response, Minister Ameer stated that the currency swap of USD 400 million arranged with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would prevent any disturbances in the national reserve.
The minister also revealed that efforts were underway to increase national productivity to reduce the government's debt.
Currently, state debt stands at MVR 49 billion, which amounts to 61.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The government aims to lower the figure to below 60 percent.
The finance ministry submitted a supplementary budget of MVR 1.7 billion to the parliament on August 21.
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