Telangana exhausts 45 per cent of annual borrowing target in four months

Telangana has utilised nearly 45 per cent of its annual market borrowing target within the first four months of 2026-27, with July recording the highest borrowing since State formation, raising concerns among financial experts over the pace of debt accumulation

Hyderabad: Telangana has already exhausted nearly 45 per cent of its annual open-market borrowing target within the first four months of 2026-27, raising Rs 32,400 crore against the budgeted Rs 73,383 crore. The pace accelerated sharply in July, with the Revanth Reddy government borrowing Rs 13,500 crore in a single month, the highest July borrowing since the formation of Telangana in 2014.

The July borrowing was also about Rs 2,000 crore higher than the Rs 11,500 crore initially proposed for the month, while accounting for nearly two-thirds of the Rs 21,000 crore earmarked for the entire July-September quarter.

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The government raised Rs 1,000 crore in the last week of July and is set to mobilise another Rs 2,500 crore through an auction of State securities this week, adding to concerns over the pace of debt accumulation.

The borrowing pace has also put the government’s annual debt plans under severe stress. The State had already exhausted its first-quarter borrowing limit of Rs 18,900 crore by June 16. With Rs 32,400 crore raised in the first four months, the government has little room for manoeuvre if borrowing continues at the current pace.

The second-quarter borrowing calendar envisages another Rs 4,500 crore in August and Rs 5,000 crore in September. Of the August borrowing, Rs 2,500 crore is scheduled to be raised this week, followed by another Rs 2,000 crore later in the month. If the current schedule is completed, borrowings are expected to reach around Rs 41,900 crore by September, leaving about Rs 31,483 crore of the annual target for the remaining six months.

The acceleration comes amid continuing fiscal pressures and borrowing requirements for government programmes, including Rythu Bharosa.

The trajectory is also reminiscent of the previous financial year, when the State raised Rs 85,840 crore in 2025-26, substantially exceeding the Rs 54,009 crore of market borrowings originally projected in the Budget.

The widening gap between budgeted and actual borrowings is now raising questions over whether the current year’s borrowing target will withstand similar pressure. Financial experts have expressed concern that continued borrowing at the present pace could once again push actual debt mobilisation beyond the Budget estimate.

The government is also seeking to ease the burden of existing debt by restructuring nearly Rs 5,000 crore of loans during the current financial year, with longer repayment periods and lower interest rates. The Centre approved the restructuring of Rs 28,000 crore of such loans during 2025-26.

With almost half of the annual borrowing target already exhausted before the first half of the financial year is over, the immediate fiscal challenge for the government is increasingly shifting from raising funds to containing the pace at which fresh debt accumulates.