India may cut market borrowing if small savings shoot up

The government will finalise its October-March market borrowing by the end of this month.

India’s market borrowing could be less than expected for the current fiscal year if small savings are more than projected, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth told Reuters on Thursday.

India has projected gross market borrowing at 15.43 trillion Indian rupees ($185.88 billion) for the fiscal year ending on March 31, of which it plans to borrow 8.88 trillion rupees between April and September.

The government has estimated that 26% of the projected fiscal deficit of 17.89 trillion rupees ($215.54 billion) will be funded by investments from the National Small Saving Fund (NSSF).

”Any additional receipts from small savings provide an opportunity to alter/reduce borrowings from other sources of financing the government’s fiscal deficit,” Seth said in an email.

In the first four months of this fiscal, small savings and deposits were at 41% of the full-year estimate of 2.93 trillion rupees, according to government data, indicating the inflows could surpass projections.

The government will finalise its October-March market borrowing by the end of this month.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India may reconsider allowing local firms to list on foreign exchanges, signalling New Delhi could revive a plan put on hold for years due to domestic opposition and tax concerns.

Seth said the government will explore permitting Indian companies to list on overseas exchanges in future, following its experience of allowing listings in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), a new financial tax-neutral hub in India. ($1 = 83.0010 Indian rupees)