Govt to borrow Rs 3.6 lakh cr in H1FY16

The borrowing would help fund a fiscal deficit of 3.9% of gross domestic product for the year

The government will borrow Rs 3.6 lakh crore trillion ($57.83 billion) in the first-half of the fiscal year that begins in April, Finance Secretary Rajeev Mehrishi said on Monday.

The amount borrowed in April-September would be 66.7 percent of the full 2015/16 year target of Rs 6 lakh crore by the government in its annual budget unveiled late last month.

The borrowing would help fund a fiscal deficit of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product for the year.

Bond traders were expecting New Delhi to frontload its market borrowings by raising as much as 67 percent of the full-year target between April and September.

Television channels had reported a borrowing of 3.65 trillion rupees for the first half OF THE YEAR just before the official announcement was due.

($1 = 62.2550 rupees)

 

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Writing by Swati Bhat; Editing by Rafael Nam)