The Reserve Bank of India announced a 250 billion rupee bond switch for Nov. 16, pairing six securities due in 2027–29 with bonds maturing from 2034 to 2062. The amount is a notified face value, not a guaranteed total.
The pairings include 5,000 crore rupees of 7.38% GS 2027, due June 20, 2027, for 7.18% GS 2037, due July 24, 2037; and 2,000 crore rupees of 8.26% GS 2027, due Aug. 2, 2027, for 7.40% GS 2062, due Sept. 19, 2062.
The remaining exchanges are 4,000 crore rupees of 7.37% GS 2028, due Oct. 23, 2028, for 6.83% GS 2039, due Jan. 19, 2039; and 4,000 crore rupees of 7.26% GS 2029, due Jan. 14, 2029, for 7.73% GS 2034, due Dec. 19, 2034. The other two pairings are 5,000 crore rupees of 7.10% GS 2029, due Apr. 18, 2029, for 6.64% GS 2035, due June 16, 2035; and 5,000 crore rupees of 7.04% GS 2029, due June 3, 2029, for 7.41% GS 2036, due Dec. 19, 2036.
Under the RBI’s auction rules, participants offer to sell an existing bond to the government and buy a designated replacement at quoted prices. Reuters reported that the government uses these exchanges to reshape when its debt comes due.
The government may choose a lower total than the notified amount or buy a marginally larger amount to round off source securities. It may also accept only part of an offer or reject it. In October, the RBI accepted source bonds worth 11,302.18 crore rupees from a 20,000-crore-rupee notified auction and issued replacement securities worth 11,651.116 crore rupees.
Bids will be submitted through the RBI’s e-Kuber platform. The central bank is scheduled to announce results Nov. 16, with settlement on Nov. 17.
