India Plans Big Bond Sale in First Half of Fiscal Year

India’s central government will raise 8. 20 trillion rupees, about half of its yearly borrowing target, by issuing bonds between April and September. This move follows a shift away from ultra‑long bonds—those lasting 30 to 50 years—which saw their share cut from 35 % to 24. 9 % last year for the first half of the fiscal period. The finance ministry said traders had predicted a borrowing range of 53 % to 56 %, and the new schedule confirms that India will indeed borrow roughly 54 % of its full‑year goal in the first half. The overall plan for the year, announced earlier in February, set a record 17. 20 trillion rupees, but recent bond auctions have already reduced that figure to 16. 09 trillion.Market reactions were swift. Over the past month, Indian bonds, stocks and the rupee fell as tensions in Iran triggered an energy shock that dampened growth and inflation expectations. A 10‑year bond yield rose to a 20‑month high of 6. 95 %, while the rupee slipped past 94 rupees per U. S. dollar for the first time. The government is spreading its borrowing more evenly across maturities—three, five, seven, ten, fifteen, thirty, forty and fifty years—to avoid front‑loading debt. It also plans to issue 150 billion rupees in green bonds and 2. 88 trillion rupees of treasury bills from April to June. Economists suggest that the current schedule may help lower yields once regional tensions ease, and they advise postponing some borrowing until after the conflict resolves.