Mumbai, March 9 The government has purchased G-secs worth Rs 6,309 crore through the auction conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and has also issued bonds worth Rs 6,431.797 crore, according to a release.
Government securities (G-Secs) are low-risk debt instruments issued by the government, offering fixed returns and backed by a sovereign guarantee.
The securities repurchased by the government were part of the scheduled bonds that were due to mature in the next financial year.
These included Rs 1,684 crore of 7.33 per cent GS 2026, Rs 1,035 crore of 5.74 per cent GS 2026, Rs 590 crore of 8.15 per cent GS 2026, and Rs 3,000 crore of 8.24 per cent GS 2027, the release stated.
In return, the government issued Rs 1,719.236 crore of 6.57 per cent GS 2033, Rs 986.526 crore of 7.62 per cent GS 2039, Rs 605.609 crore of 6.57 per cent GS 2033, and Rs 3,120.426 crore of 7.40 per cent GS 2062, the release added.
This is the fourth switch auction conducted by the RBI since February.
In a bond switch, the government replaces short-term maturing bonds with long-term instruments.
The switch operation is expected to ease redemption pressure in the next financial year, when government bond maturities worth Rs 5.47 lakh crore are due.
With gross market borrowing already budgeted at Rs 17.2 lakh crore, the move helps in smoothing the maturity profile and managing repayment obligations more effectively.
Prior to this, the RBI had conducted three switch auctions and purchased securities worth Rs 98,591.701 crore, according to RBI data.
