Bond market push: Govt eyes Bloomberg index inclusion with latest G-Sec reforms

The government's recent measures to boost foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Government Securities (G-Secs) are aimed at improving India's chances of securing inclusion in Bloomberg's flagship Global Aggregate Bond Index, government sources said on Tuesday, PTI reported.

Last Friday, the Centre unveiled a series of reforms to increase FPI participation in G-Secs and deepen the domestic bond market.

The measures included tax exemptions on interest income, long-term capital gains (LTCG) and short-term capital gains (STCG), expansion of specified securities under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR), and streamlined investment norms.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also announced a slew of measures on Friday to attract foreign capital inflows.

"We are hopeful that the steps taken last week on G-secs will help government bonds get included in the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index," government sources said.

According to sources, inclusion in the index would not only deepen India's bond market but also attract higher passive fund inflows.

To address issues related to India's inclusion in the index, the finance ministry held four meetings with three RBI deputy governors handling different portfolios over the last two months, sources said, adding that the reforms were specifically designed to deepen the bond market.

In January, Bloomberg had said it was reviewing India's inclusion in the USD 3-trillion Global Aggregate Bond Index, with the next update expected by mid-2026.

"We should have got into the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index in January. Efforts towards that began around two months ago, and inclusion was very much on top of our minds," sources said.

India officially entered the JP Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets on June 28, 2024.