The Government plans to borrow Rs 8.2 lakh crore in the first half of the financial year 2026-27. The total gross market borrowing target for the year was pegged at Rs 17.20 lakh crore initially, later it was revised down to Rs 16.09 lakh crore after bond switches.
“Of Rs 16.09 lakh crore, Rs 8.20 lakh crore (51.0%) is planned to be borrowed in H1 through issuance of dated securities, including Rs 15,000 crore of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs),” the Finance Ministry said in a release.
The borrowing will be carried out via 26 weekly auctions across a wide maturity spectrum ranging from 3-year to 50-year securities. The largest chunk will come from 10-year bonds, which account for 29% of the planned issuance, followed by 5-year (15.4%) and 15-year (14.5%) papers.
To manage its debt profile, the government will use several other tools such as switching and buyback of securities to smoothen redemptions. It will also retain the option to accept an additional Rs 2,000 crore per security through the greenshoe option during auctions. Separately, treasury bill issuances in the first quarter are estimated at Rs 24,000 crore weekly, across 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors.
To address temporary cash mismatches, the RBI has set the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit for the first half at Rs 2.5 lakh crore.