MUMBAI: The government will issue sovereign green bonds for an aggregate amount of Rs 16,000 crore in two tranches, finance ministry said on Friday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will auction 5-year and 10-year green bonds for Rs 4,000 crore each on January 25 and February 9 of this financial year.
These bonds will be auctioned via uniform price auction. “Five percent of the notified amount of sale will be reserved for retail investors as specified under the scheme for non-competitive bidding facility in the auctions of Government of India dated securities and treasury bill,” the statement said.
These bonds will also be eligible for repurchase transactions as per the terms and conditions mentioned in the repurchase transactions (repo) directions, 2018, as amended from time to time. In addition, these will be eligible for trading in the secondary market.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the Union Budget 2022-23, about the issue of green bonds as part of the government’s overall market borrowings for mobilising resources for green infrastructure. Green bonds proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects, which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.