Kamal Ghorui
The Centre plans to raise Rs 8.20 lakh crore from the market in the first half of FY27 through dated securities, accounting for over half of its revised annual borrowing programme, the finance ministry said on Friday, PTI reported.The borrowing, scheduled for April–September 2026-27, is aimed at funding the fiscal deficit and bridging the revenue gap. It includes Rs 15,000 crore through Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs).The government had budgeted gross market borrowings at Rs 17.20 lakh crore for FY27, but after switches of government securities (G-Secs), the revised borrowing stands at Rs 16.09 lakh crore.“Of Rs 16.09 lakh crore, Rs 8.20 lakh crore (51 per cent) is planned to be borrowed in H1 through issuance of dated securities, including Rs 15,000 crore of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs),” the ministry said.The borrowing will be completed through 26 weekly auctions, with amounts ranging between Rs 28,000 crore and Rs 34,000 crore. Securities will be issued across maturities of 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, 40 and 50 years.The 10-year segment will account for the largest share at 29%, followed by 5-year (15.4%), 15-year (14.5%), and other tenures including 3-year (8.1%), 7-year (8.1%), 30-year (7.3%), 40-year (8%) and 50-year (9.6%).To improve participation, 5% of the notified amount in each auction will be reserved for retail investors under the non-competitive bidding route.The Centre will retain flexibility to modify the borrowing calendar, including changes in issuance size, maturities and instruments such as floating rate bonds (FRBs) and inflation indexed bonds (IIBs), depending on market conditions.Switch and buyback operations will continue to smoothen the redemption profile. “Switches of dated securities through auction will be conducted on the third Monday of every month or at more frequent intervals. In case the third Monday is a holiday, the switch auction will be conducted on the fourth Monday of the month,” the ministry said.The government will also retain the greenshoe option to accept an additional subscription of up to Rs 2,000 crore for each security.Separately, weekly Treasury Bill (T-Bill) borrowings in the first quarter are expected at Rs 24,000 crore for 12 weeks, including Rs 12,000 crore in 91-day T-Bills, and Rs 6,000 crore each in 182-day and 364-day instruments.To manage temporary cash mismatches, the Reserve Bank of India has fixed the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit for the first half of FY27 at Rs 2.50 lakh crore.In the Union Budget 2026-27, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had projected a fiscal deficit of 4.3% of GDP, amounting to Rs 16.9 lakh crore. “To finance the fiscal deficit, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.7 lakh crore. The balance financing is expected to come from small savings and other sources. The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 17.2 lakh crore,” she had said.
