Govt To Borrow ₹8 Trillion in April-September; Issuances Of Short-Term, 10-Year Papers Up Slightly

The Government of India will borrow ₹8.00 trillion in April-September, accounting for 54% of the gross market borrowing target of ₹14.82 trillion for 2025-26. The borrowing amount for the first half came lower than market expectation of around 56%-59%.

The borrowing programme will primarily be conducted through weekly auctions, with the auction size of ₹250-360 billion. Barring two weekly auctions, which involve Sovereign Green Bonds, the government is planning to issue only two gilts every week. Notably, the RBI will auction the 10-year benchmark government bond once every four weeks, with a consistent auction size of ₹300 billion.

In a shift in maturity preferences, the government has slightly reduced its reliance on ultra-long-term bonds (maturities of 30-50 years), with their share falling to 35% from 38% in the previous fiscal. Simultaneously, there is a modest increase in the share of 10-year bonds to 26% from 24% and in the 3-7 year segment to 25% from 23.5%.

Treasury Bill Issuance
In the short-term borrowing segment, the government plans to raise ₹2.47 trillion through Treasury Bills during April-June. The supply of T-bills has been sharply curtailed, with weekly issuances set at ₹190 billion—lower than the ₹220-270 billion range in the same period last year, and the ₹280-330 billion seen during January-March. 

WMA Limit
To manage temporary mismatches in cash flows, the RBI has fixed the Ways and Means Advances limit for the first half of 2025-26 at ₹1.50 trillion. This marks a significant increase from the ₹500 billion limit for the second half of the preceding fiscal.