Govt Likely to Issue Green Bonds in Jan-March Quarter

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated Tuesday that Sovereign Green Bonds will likely be issued in the January-March period during the current fiscal.

He stated that the objective of Sovereign Green Bonds was to mobilize resources for green infrastructure in order to finance the government’s market borrowings in 2022-2223. “The framework has been created for these bonds.

These bonds will likely be issued between January and March 2023. He stated that the proceeds would be used in public sector projects that reduce carbon intensity. Responding to another question, the Indian rupee’s value is determined by the market. He said that the US dollar grew by 7.8 percent in the last financial year, due to global spillovers of geo-political tensions as well as aggressive monetary policy tightening around the globe. This was in addition to a rise in crude oil prices.

The rupee saw a 6.9% decline in value from the current financial year to November 30, 2022. However, it performed better than many Asian peer currencies such as the Chinese Renminbi (10.6 per cent), Indonesian Rupiah (8.7 per cent), Philippine Peso (8.5 per cent ), South Korean Won (8.1 per cent), Taiwanese Dollar (7.3 per cent) etc. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monitors foreign exchange markets closely and intervenes only when there is excessive volatility in the exchange rate. This intervention does not refer to any pre-determined target or band.

In recent times, the RBI announced a variety of measures to diversify and increase the source of forex funding in order to reduce volatility and prevent global spillovers. Chaudhary responded to another question by stating that the total number of fake currency notes found in the banking system between 2021-22 is 2,30,971 pieces, according to the RBI.