Telangana will have to wait for a few more days for Open Market Borrowings raised by the RBI on behalf of State governments.
Telangana’s name did not figure in the list of States participating in the auction of securities for raising OMBs to be conducted by the RBI on May 24 (Tuesday). Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan and West Bengal are participating in the auction of securities through the e-Kuber platform.
The delay in grant of approval by the Centre for raising funds through OMBs in line with Article 293 of the Constitution has held back the State from participating in the auction of securities or raising State Development Loans since the commencement of the current financial year. The State planned to raise ₹15,000 crore through OMBs during the first quarter, but could not do so because of the inordinate delay by the Centre to give its nod.
With the Centre not giving its permission to raise OMBs raising queries on management of finances by the State, it could not raise ₹8,000 crore it planned to raise in four auctions till May 17. It had planned to raise ₹3,000 crore on May 31, according to the indicative calendar of borrowings released by the RBI, but uncertainty continues to prevail over whether or not the State will be permitted to go for OMBs.
Finance department special chief secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao himself went to the national capital for convincing the Union Finance Ministry to grant permission at the earliest for meeting the immediate financial requirements of the State.
His visit was aimed at briefing the Union Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan about the State’s financial health and the commitments it had owing to the spree of welfare programmes launched in the State.
Wait continues
But, the visit apparently did not yield the desired results and the State was forced to wait for the Centre’s nod. Senior officials said that the approval did not come as Saturday and Sunday were holidays for the Central Government. “We will have to wait,” was how a senior official reacted when contacted by The Hindu.
Officials are however confident that the State could raise the amount it projected through OMBs once the Centre gives its nod. “We can raise the amount projected in the indicative calendar anytime before the end of the quarter once the Centre gives its nod,” the official said.
