Centre Holds Net Borrowing at Budget Level, Signals Fiscal Prudence

The Centre has kept net market borrowings for fiscal deficit financing at the Budget level despite emerging expenditure pressures, Finance Ministry sources said. For FY27, net borrowings are budgeted at Rs 11.7 lakh crore and the fiscal deficit at 4.3 percent of GDP. The H2 programme of Rs 7.86 lakh crore focuses on longer-dated securities to raise weighted average maturity and cut rollover risk.