RBI to auction ₹32,000 crore in govt securities on Apr 24: Check key details

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will auction government securities worth ₹32,000 crore on April 24 as part of the Centre’s ongoing borrowing programme. The auction will include both fresh issuances and reissuances across four securities, the central bank said in a release.

The offering comprises ₹11,000 crore each of the 6.03% GS 2029 and 6.68% GS 2033, along with ₹5,000 crore each of the 7.24% GS 2055 and a new sovereign green bond maturing in 2056, the release noted.

Under the current underwriting framework, each primary dealer (PD) will have a minimum underwriting commitment of ₹262 crore for the 2029 and 2033 securities, and ₹120 crore each for the 2055 and 2056 bonds. The same thresholds will apply as minimum bidding commitments under the additional competitive underwriting (ACU) auction, as per the release.

The underwriting auction will follow a multiple price-based method, with bids to be submitted electronically via the RBI’s e-Kuber system between 9:00 am and 9:30 am on Friday. The underwriting commission will be credited to the current accounts of primary dealers with the RBI on the day of issuance, it said.

The RBI regularly conducts such auctions, along with buybacks and switch operations, to manage liquidity and support the government in smoothing its debt maturity profile. The upcoming auction comes amid a steady borrowing calendar, with investors closely tracking yield movements and demand dynamics—particularly for longer-tenor and green bonds—as India continues to deepen its sovereign debt market.

The 10-year government bond yield remained volatile through FY26, starting at around 6.40% in April 2025 and rising to nearly 7% by the end of March 2026. Longer-tenor yields are expected to stay elevated amid global uncertainties and domestic supply pressures.

Earlier this week, the Government of India carried out a switch auction through the RBI, buying back G-secs worth ₹12,686.97 crore while issuing fresh bonds totalling ₹13,311.38 crore. The buyback included near-term maturities such as ₹2,316 crore of 5.74% GS 2026 and ₹1,000 crore of 8.24% GS 2027, along with securities maturing between FY28 and FY30.

However, the government did not accept bids for certain securities, including 6.64% GS 2027, 7.04% GS 2029 and 7.88% GS 2030.

Switch operations like these are aimed at easing near-term redemption pressure by pushing out maturities. This is particularly relevant ahead of FY27, when bond redemptions are estimated at ₹5.47 lakh crore. With gross market borrowing already budgeted at ₹17.2 lakh crore, such measures help smoothen repayment schedules and strengthen debt management.

For FY27, the Centre has projected net market borrowing at ₹11.7 lakh crore, around ₹50,000 crore higher than the previous year, largely due to elevated redemption obligations.