Union Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman keeps borrowing limit unchanged in FY25

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept the borrowing limit unchanged in the Union Budget 2024-25 tabled in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on July 23. The Finance Minister stuck to the borrowing number of Rs 14.13 lakh crore from the markets in 2024-25 in gross terms.

"The gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs 14.13 lakh crore and Rs 11.75 lakh crore respectively. Both will be less than that in 2023-24. Now that the private investments are happening at scale, the lower borrowings by the Central Government will facilitate larger availability of credit for the private sector," the Finance Minister had said in her Interim Budget speech in February.

The net borrowing number for FY25, at Rs 11.75 lakh crore, is only slightly lower compared to the revised estimate of Rs 11.80 lakh crore for the previous fiscal. The sharply lower gross borrowing figure for FY25 is a result of the central government’s focus on aggressive consolidation as it looks to meet a sharply lower fiscal deficit target.

Out of gross market borrowing estimated for FY25, Rs 7.50 lakh crore (53.08 percent) is planned to be borrowed in the first half (H1) through dated securities, including Rs 12,000 crore through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds.