Public debt and its management

Article 292 permits Union borrowing on the security of the Consolidated Fund of India within limits Parliament may fix by law, yet Parliament has never enacted that limit, leaving markets and statutory rules as the actual constraints. Article 293 governs State borrowing, requiring Union consent while a State remains indebted to the Union. Dated securities and treasury bills are the principal instruments; the Reserve Bank of India acts as debt manager under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and provides Ways and Means Advances for temporary mismatches. A separate Public Debt Management Agency was proposed in the 2015–16 Budget.