Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on February 6 that the Government’s borrowing programme is on the lower side, which would enable it to raise the required resources at reasonable prices. “It may not be right to look at the gross borrowing number alone. There are much more redemptions in FY27 so gross borrowing is expected to be higher. Net borrowings, however, are only at Rs 11.73 lakh crore which is only about Rs 20,000 crore more than last year. Given the size of the Budget, one would have expected a much bigger increase,” Malhotra observed.
He said the Government will also raise funds through Treasury Bills this year, which should help authorities manage the yield curve better and handle the borrowing programme more efficiently.
“The issuance of treasury bills in the next financial year will help further manage the yield curve better. The budgeted number for the small savings scheme is conservative. The Centre’s borrowing programme is on the lower side and can raise funds at reasonable prices,” he said.
Malhotra further stated that the RBI has made sure there is ample liquidity into the system to ensure transmission of previous repo rate cuts in the economy. The central bank is not looking at making any changes in liquidity management, he added.
He further stated that tax holidays for data centres should help attract fresh investment, signalling confidence that policy incentives can pull long-term capital into digital infrastructure.