The central government will borrow Rs 8.45 lakh crore from the market in the first half of FY23 by issuing bonds, the finance ministry said on March 31.

While this sum amounts to 56.5 percent of the full-year borrowing programme of Rs 14.95 lakh crore as spelt out by the Budget for 2022-23, it is 59 percent of the programme after adjusting for the bond switch operation the government held with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on January 31, a day before the Budget was presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The government will borrow money from the market in the first half of FY23 through weekly auctions of its bonds ranging, with the auctions ranging in size from Rs 32,000 crore to Rs 33,000 crore.