Divya Delhi:  The government plans to borrow Rs 8 lakh crore, 54% of its Rs 14.8 lakh crore FY26 borrowing, in the first half. It didn't front-load the borrowing program to avoid raising rates while the RBI pumped record liquidity into the system. Since the market reported little demand for 30-year and longer bonds, the government announced it would borrow less in FY26. "Recent growth moderation required 6-9 months of policy support. Thus, front-loading of the borrowing program has been avoided due to government (fiscal consolidation without compromising quality of expenditure) and RBI (monetary easing with large liquidity infusion) policy actions. Ram Kamal Samanta, senior VP-investments, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance, said this will prevent market interest rate pressure. In the first half of the gross borrowing program, the government plans to mobilize 54%, up from 53% in FY25, 58% in FY24, and 59% in FY23. Compared to 37% in FY25, the government will borrow 34.5% of its first-half borrowing through super-long-term securities. The decision comes as ultra long gilt yield margins above benchmark 10-year gilts rose from 20 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) in September 2024 to 47 basis points in late February 2025.Bond market players said this shows reduced long-term investor demand despite growth slowdown.