New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): The Finance Ministry on Monday announced the sale of government bonds worth Rs 34,000 crore in three lots through auctions to be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai on Friday (February 21).
The first lot comprises "6.75 per cent Government Security 2029" for a notified amount of Rs 14,000 crore while the second lot consists of "6.98 per cent GOI SGrB 2054” for a notified amount of Rs 5,000 crore. The third set of "7.34 per cent Government Security 2064" is for a notified amount of Rs 15,000 crore. The three lots will be sold through a price-based auction using the multiple price method, the statement said.
The government will have the option to retain additional subscriptions up to Rs 2,000 crore against each security mentioned above, according to the statement.
Up to 5 per cent of the notified amount of the sale of the securities will be allotted to eligible individuals and institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.
Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on February 21. The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. and the competitive bids should be submitted between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., according to the official statement.
The result of the auctions will be announced on February 21 and the payment by successful bidders will have to be made on February 24 (Monday).
The Securities will be eligible for "When Issued" trading in accordance with the guidelines on 'When Issued transactions in Central Government Securities' issued by the Reserve Bank of India vide circular No. RBI/2018-19/25 dated July 24, 2018, as amended from time to time, the statement added.
A government bond represents debt issued by a government and sold to investors to support spending. Government bonds are considered low-risk investments since the government backs them. Because of their relatively low risk, government bonds typically pay low interest rates.