Finance Ministry Finalises Framework For Sovereign Green Bonds: Report

The central government intends to mobilise Rs 16,000 crore from the issuance of green bonds during the second half of the current financial year

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget Speech this year announced that the government proposes to issue sovereign green bonds to mobilise resources for green infrastructure.

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The Finance Ministry has finalised the framework to issue sovereign green bonds in line with global standards, quoting sources news agency PTI reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, the central government intends to mobilise Rs 16,000 crore from the issuance of green bonds during the second half of the current financial year. It is a part of the borrowing programme for the second half of this fiscal year.

The framework is ready and it would be approved soon, the sources said.

These rupee-denominated papers will have long tenure to suit the requirement of green infrastructure projects, they added.

The issuance would be in line with the Budget announcement.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget Speech this year announced that the government proposes to issue sovereign green bonds to mobilise resources for green infrastructure.

"The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects, which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy," she said in the Budget 2022-23.

The government is planning a total borrowing of Rs 5.92 lakh crore during the October-March period of the current fiscal.

The government had in the Budget for 2022-23 projected a gross market borrowing of Rs 14.31 lakh crore.

Of this, it decided to borrow Rs 14.21 lakh crore during 2022-23, Rs 10,000 crore lower than the Budget estimate.

Meanwhile, two days back Sitharaman said the government's efforts to reduce bad loans are yielding result with 12 public sector banks logging a 50 per cent jump in combined net profit at Rs 25,685 crore in the second quarter (Q2) ended September.

In the first half of FY23, the cumulative net profit of all public sector banks (PSBs) increased by 32 per cent to Rs 40,991 crore. During Q2, SBI clocked the highest-ever profit of Rs 13,265 crore. On year-on-year (YoY) basis, this was 74 per cent higher than the same quarter a year ago.