India Panel Proposes Raising State Ways and Means Advances Limit to 678.39 Billion Rupees

India's central bank-appointed panel on September 29, 2026, proposed raising the aggregate ways and means advances limit for state governments to 678.39 billion rupees ($7.07 billion) from the current 610.08 billion rupees, alongside measures to strengthen states' cash management. The panel recommended states spread market borrowings more evenly through the year and avoid concentrating issuances in the fourth quarter to ease funding pressures. It also proposed allowing states with Consolidated Sinking Fund balances exceeding 5% of outstanding marketable debt and guarantees to withdraw the excess freely. Additionally, the committee suggested raising the share of the eligible CSF corpus available under the Special Drawing Facility to 75% from 50%, and cutting the maximum consecutive overdraft days for states to 10 from 14. Ways and means advances are temporary RBI loans bridging state cash-flow mismatches. Heavy state borrowing earlier this year complicated the central bank's rate-cutting efforts.