Centre to Borrow Rs 7.86 Lakh Crore in Second Half of FY27, Total FY Borrowing at Rs 15.9 Lakh Crore

The Central government on Friday said it would borrow Rs 7.86 lakh crore in the second half of this fiscal (FY27), including through Sovereign Green Bonds worth Rs 15,000 crore. According to an official statement from the Finance Ministry, the borrowing would be executed through 23 weekly auctions. With this, the total borrowing for the full financial year is expected to reach Rs 15.9 lakh crore via dated securities. In the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed to borrow Rs 17.2 lakh crore to fund the fiscal deficit, projected at 4.3 per cent of the GDP.

Meanwhile, India's fiscal deficit for the four-month period (April-July) of the financial year 2026-27 stood at Rs 4.55 lakh crore, which works out to 26.8 per cent of the target for the full financial year. This is less than the fiscal deficit in the same period last year, which ⁠stood at Rs 4.7 lakh crore, constituting 29.9 per cent of the estimate for the full financial year. According to government data, total receipts in April-July this year stood at Rs 13.07 lakh crore, while overall expenditure was at Rs 17.62 lakh crore.

The figures represent 35.8 per cent and 32.9 per cent, respectively, of the budget estimate for the current financial year. Revenue receipts during April-July stood at Rs 12.68 lakh crore, of which tax revenue was Rs 8.45 lakh crore, and non-tax revenue was Rs 4.23 lakh crore. Non-tax revenue jumped as the RBI approved a dividend of Rs 2.87 lakh crore to the Central government, up from Rs 2.69 lakh crore transferred last year. This has strengthened the country’s fiscal position and helped to reduce the fiscal deficit. The government achieved its fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent in the financial year 2025-26 and has lowered the target further to 4.3 per cent of GDP for the current financial year as part of the fiscal consolidation process.

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