New Delhi, March 27: The Ministry of Finance announced that the Indian government will raise Rs 8 lakh crore through bonds in the first half of the 2025-26 financial year (April-September), which constitutes 54% of the total market borrowing target of Rs 14.82 lakh crore for the entire fiscal year.
Of this amount, Rs 10,000 crore will be raised through sovereign green bonds in the first half of the year. The borrowing will take place through 26 weekly auctions, with government securities maturing between 3 and 50 years. The planned maturities will include 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, 40, and 50-year bonds.
To ensure smooth redemption, the government will conduct buybacks and switching operations. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit at Rs 1.50 lakh crore for the first half of the fiscal year, which will help manage any temporary imbalances in government accounts.
For the first quarter of 2025-26, the government intends to raise Rs 19,000 crore weekly through Treasury bills, with over 26% of total market borrowings expected to be raised through 10-year government securities. The Centre will also have the option to retain additional subscriptions of up to Rs 2,000 crore for each bond issuance under the greenshoe option.
The government's gross borrowing for the 2025-26 fiscal year is higher than the current year due to the inclusion of repayments for Covid-19-related loans, which are due this year. The gross borrowing estimate for 2024-25 stands at Rs 14.01 lakh crore.
In net terms, bond market borrowings for 2025-26 are estimated at Rs 11.54 lakh crore (3.2% of GDP), slightly lower than Rs 11.63 lakh crore for 2024-25.
