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The central government plans to raise Rs 7.5 trillion through market borrowing in the first half of 2024-25 (April-September), an official release from the finance ministry said on Wednesday.
The government raises funds primarily to meet the revenue gap. Out of Gross Market borrowing target of Rs 14.13 lakh crore projected for financial year 2024-25 in the Union budget, Rs 7.50 lakh crore, or about 53.08 per cent, is planned to be borrowed in the first half through dated securities. Of those planned borrowing plans, Rs 12,000 crore would be raised through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs). A sovereign green bond is a debt instrument issued by the central or state government to borrow money from investors with the commitment that the mobilised fund will be spent on climate or eco-system-related activities. This phenomenon began in 2016 with the Poland government issuing its first sovereign green bond. Further, based on market feedback and in line with global market practices, it has been decided to introduce a new dated security of 15-year tenor, the finance ministry said. The projected market borrowing for 2024-25 is reportedly lower than last fiscal's gross borrowing estimate of Rs 15.43 trillion, an all-time high. "The gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs 14.13 and Rs 11.75 lakh crore respectively," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in the interim Budget speech. "Both will be less than that in 2023-24. Now that the private investments are happening at scale, the lower borrowings by the Central Government will facilitate larger availability of credit for the private sector," she had said. (ANI)
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