Option open for a sovereign bond issue: FinMin

With rupee continuing to be a worrying factor for the economy, Government today said the first sovereign bond issue in 12 years was an option before it to tackle forex volatility.
"... All options are on the table and are examined from time to time. Steps are taken by the government at the appropriate time," a Finance Ministry statement said.
The statement came amidst reports that the government has momentarily shelved the option of an NRI bond issue to tide over the slump in rupee against the US dollar which had not only widened the current account deficit, but also strained domestic prices.

The government had used NRI bond issue option as a tool to stem rupee fall only on three occasions in the past-- in 1991, 1998 and then in 2001.
According to estimates, India can mop up USD 20 billion from NRI bonds.
In order to raise foreign exchange to deal with the external sector problems, India raised funds through India Development Bonds in 1991, Resurgent India Bonds in 1998 and India Millennium Deposits in 2001.

Banks had raised USD 1.6 billion, USD 4.8 billion and USD 5.5 billion respectively from the bonds targeted at NRIs.
The rupee has depreciated by over 12 per cent against the dollar since the beginning of the fiscal. The Indian currency hit a lifetime low of 61.21 a dollar on July 8, forcing the central bank and capital markets regulator Sebi to take unconventional measures to arrest the slide.

The rupee today fell by 37 paise, its biggest drop in two weeks, to close at 59.72 following month-end dollar demand from oil importers and some custodian banks coupled with capital outflows.
During 2012-13 CAD, which is the difference between the outflow and inflow of foreign currency, hit a record high of 4.7 per cent of GDP or USD 88 billion.