Centre to borrow ₹6.77 lakh cr in H2FY26, ₹10,000 cr via Sovereign Green Bonds

The Indian government has pegged its market borrowings at ₹6.77 lakh crore through dated securities for the second half of the fiscal year 2025-26. It includes ₹10,000 crore via Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs), aimed at financing environmentally sustainable projects.

The borrowing figure is marginally lower than the ₹6.82 lakh crore borrowed in the same period last year. Gross borrowing for the full fiscal year is now projected at ₹14.72 lakh crore, slightly below the earlier estimate of ₹14.82 lakh crore.

The borrowing will be conducted through 22 weekly auctions until 6 March 2026, with maturities ranging from 3 to 50 years. The distribution includes: 3-year (6.6%), 5-year (13.3%), 7-year (8.1%), 10-year (28.4%), 15-year (14.2%), 30-year (9.2%), 40-year (11.1%), and 50-year (9.2%). The government has also reserved the right to exercise a greenshoe option of up to ₹2,000 crore per security.

Weekly Treasury Bill issuance in Q3 FY26 is expected to be ₹19,000 crore, split across 91-day (₹7,000 crore), 182-day (₹6,000 crore), and 364-day (₹6,000 crore) durations. The Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit for H2 FY26 has been set at ₹50,000 crore by the Reserve Bank of India.

Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Anuradha Thakur on Thursday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to its fiscal and growth objectives, stressing that market concerns are being addressed through stable policies and transparent communication.

“We are hoping this is one of the indications to show and provide confidence to the markets that the government is listening, and our borrowing calendar is one step in that direction,” Thakur said, in the context of the government’s October-March market borrowing plan.

Earlier, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran confirmed that the borrowing plan remains unchanged. “We are confident of maintaining the fiscal deficit target; the second half borrowing will be unchanged,” he told CNBC-TV18.

India has projected a fiscal deficit of 4.4% of GDP for FY26. Retail inflation stood at 2.07% in August and Nageswaran expects a “benign” trend to continue, aided by consumer tax cuts on food and household items.