MUMBAI: The government plans to borrow Rs 6.55 lakh crore, unchanged from what it had announced earlier, during the second half of the current fiscal. It further said that it would introduce bonds with a 50-year maturity as well as green bonds – both firsts for sovereign debt papers.
In its Budget for FY24, the government had said it would raise Rs 15.43 lakh crore. During the first half of the year (April-September), it raised Rs 8.9 lakh crore, RBI and official data showed. Usually, the government raises between 60-65% of its total borrowings during the first half of the fiscal – called front-loading – leaving room for states and other entities to go for higher borrowings during the second half of the fiscal. The central and state governments meet their fiscal deficits through these borrowings.
The government has decided “to borrow the balance amount of Rs 6.55 lakh crore (42.5% of Rs 15.43 lakh crore) in the second half of the fiscal year 2023-24 through dated securities, including Rs 20,000 crore through issuance of sovereign green bonds (SGrBs),” a finance ministry statement noted.
The government will borrow through papers of three, five, seven, 10, 14, 30, 40 and 50 -year duration.
