Budget 2017-18: I have taken due care to limit net market borrowing of government, says FM Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the government will borrow Rs 3.5 lakh crore from the market in 2017-18. “I have taken due care to limit the net market borrowing of the government to Rs 3.48 lakh crore after buy back, much lower than Rs 4.25 lakh crore of the previous year,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Budget 2017-18 speech on Wednesday.

Gross-borrowing for 2017-18 has been pegged up at Rs 5.8 lakh crore which is marginally higher from Budget estimate of Rs 6 lakh crore in the ongoing fiscal.

Gross borrowing includes repayments of past loans and interests. The government will float bonds worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the next fiscal as against Rs 1.01 lakh crore in the current fiscal under Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS).

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MSS does not add to the fiscal burden but it is used to manage liquidity in the market. Against the Budget estimate of Rs 20,000 crore under MSS for the current fiscal, the government had to raise the limit to Rs 1.01 lakh crore in order to mop up additional liquidity infused in the market due to demonetisation.

READ: UNION BUDGET 2017-18 FULL COVERAGE