States plan to sell bonds worth Rs 2.64 lakh crore in Jul-Sep, says RBI

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

plan to raise funds worth Rs 2.64 lakh crore through bond sales in July-September, while the Centre aims to raise Rs 2.60 lakh crore through the sale of Treasury Bills in the second quarter, the Reserve Bank of India said.

In an indicative calendar released by the RBI on Friday, the central bank announced 13 sets of auctions in July-September through which states plan to sell bonds and raise funds.

The RBI is the debt manager to the central and state governments.

“RBI would endeavour to conduct the auctions in a non-disruptive manner, taking into account the market conditions and other relevant factors...RBI reserves the right to modify the dates and the amount of auction in consultation with State Governments/UTs,” the central bank said.

In April-June, state governments had raised Rs 1.45 lakh crore through the sale of bonds, sharply lower than Rs 2.54 lakh crore announced in the indicative calendar for that quarter.

Providing a breakup for the Centre’s Treasury Bill sales, the RBI said that the government plans to raise Rs 1.04 lakh crore through 91-day T-bills, Rs 78,000 crore through 182-day T-bills and Rs 78,000 crore through 364-day T-bills. T-bills are short-term debt instruments used by the Centre to meet its near-term cash requirements.

In April-June, the RBI had reduced the Centre’s planned T-bill borrowings by Rs 60,000 crore as election-related constraints on expenditure had led to a large build-up of the government’s cash balances.