India's most debt-ridden states

India's external debt increased by $36.9 billion to $261.4 billion by end-March 2010. This works out to 18.9% of the nation's GDP.

The Reserve Bank of India says that India is Asia's fifth most indebted nation.

Be that as it may, India's foreign exchange reserves stand at a whopping $282 billion, so the nation's financial condition is not precarious.

However, internally, various Indian states are reeling under the burden of heavy debt, extravagant expenditure and meagre sources of revenue.

The West Bengal finance minister recently said that his state is not the only one with a huge debt burden and that other Indian states, as well as the Centre, have also taken massive loans.

So which are the states in India that are most debt-ridden? Click NEXT to find out . . .

NOTE: The states have NOT been ranked.

State: Uttar Pradesh

Loan burden: Rs 221,000 crore (Rs 2,210 billion)

Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India, contributing 8.17 per cent to India's gross domestic product. The major economic activity in the state is agriculture.

Capital: Lucknow

Chief Minister: Kumari Mayawati

Population: Over 19 crore (190 million)

. . .

State: Maharastra

Loan burden: Rs 208,000 crore (Rs 2,080 billion)

Favourable economic policies in the 1970s led to Maharashtra becoming India's leading industrial state in the last quarter of 20th century.

Maharashtra's gross state domestic product stands at at $160 billion. Maharashtra is the second most urbanised state of India.

Capital: Mumbai

Chief Minister: Ashok Chavan

Population: Over 9.6 crore (96 million)

. . .

State: West Bengal

Loan burden: Rs 192,000 crore (Rs 1,920 billion)

West Bengal is the third largest contributor to India's GDP. An agriculture-dependent state, West Bengal occupies only 2.7% of the India's land area. It is the most densely populated state in India.

The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of the state.

Capital: Kolkata

Chief Minister: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee 

Population: Over 9.03 crore (90 million)

. . .

State: Andhra Pradesh

Loan burden: Rs 126,000 crore (Rs 1,260 billion)

Agriculture has been the chief source of income for the state's economy. The state has also started to focus on the fields of information technology and biotechnology.

In 2004 2005, Andhra Pradesh was at the fifth position in the list of top IT exporting states of India.

Capital: Hyderabad

Chief Minister: K Rosaiah

Population: Over 7.6 crore (76 million)

. . .

Loan burden: Rs 56,250 crore (Rs 562.50 billion)

According to the India State Hunger Index compiled by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the malnutrition in the state received a severity rating between Ethiopia and Chad.

Between 1999 and 2008, the annualised growth rate in the state was only 3.5 per cent.

Capital: Bhopal

Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Population: Over 6.03 crore (60.3 million)

. . .

State: Orissa

Loan burden: Rs 49,003.92 crore (Rs 490.03 billion)

The state is rich in mineral resources and contains a fifth of India's coal, a quarter of its iron ore, a third of its bauxite reserves and most of the chromite.

Recently, around 50 companies have signed memoranda of understanding to set up steel plants in the state, including POSCO of South Korea. The latter's plan to construct a mammoth $12 billion steel plant near Paradip port, however, has met with some opposition.

The Central government has agreed to accord special economic zone) status to eight sites in the state

Capital: Bhubaneswar

Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik 

Population: Over 3.67 crore (36.7 million)

. . .

State: Karnataka

Loan burden: Rs 66,000 crore (Rs 660 billion) 

It is the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population. Its capital Bengaluru is at the forefront of the rapid economic and technological development that India is experiencing. It is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India. 

Karnataka recorded the highest growth rates in terms of GDP and per capita GDP in the last decade compared to other states.

Capital: Bengaluru

Chief Minister: B S Yeddyurappa

Population: Over 5.28 crore (52.8 million)

. . .

State: Kerala

Loan burden: Rs 65,000 crore (Rs 650 billion).

Kerala has a higher Human Development Index than all other states in India. The state has a literacy rate of 94.59 per cent, the highest in India.

According to a recent Business Standard report, the state ranks No.1 in per capita income. Kerala seems to be quite content with not attracting any new industrial investments.

It ranks 14 out of 23 states in terms of outstanding investments.

Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister: V S Achuthanandan

Population: Over 3.18 crore (31.8 million)

. . .

State: Bihar

Loan burden: Rs 45,580.16 crore (Rs 455.8 billion)

Today, Bihar lags behind the other Indian states in human and economic development terms. The current state government has however made significant strides in improving governance.

The economy of Bihar is largely service oriented, but it also has a significant agricultural base. The state also has a small industrial sector.

Capital: Patna

Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar

Population: Over 9.4 crore (94 million)