Budget 2020: Limit For Foreign Investors In Corporate Bonds To Be Raised To 15%

The government plans to increase investment limit of foreign portfolio investors in corporate bonds from 9 percent to 15 percent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

In her second Budget presentation, the finance minister said certain government securities will be open for foreign investors. She also proposed debt-exchange traded funds comprising mainly government securities, while stating that Rs 22,000 crore has already been provided as support to infrastructure projects.

To address liquidity constraints of non-banking finance companies and housing finance corporations, partial credit guarantee scheme will be launched by the government, she said. Sitharaman said a scheme will be introduced to provide subordinate debt for entrepreneurs of micro, small and medium enterprises.

The government has asked the Reserve Bank of India to extend debt restructuring window for MSME by a year to March 31, 2021. Moreover, a National Recruitment Agency will be set up for conducting common online eligibility tests for recruitment to non-gazetted posts, the finance minister said.