Govt raised `10K crore thru bonds to bankroll welfare schemes: Min

Hyderabad: Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) has raised nearly ₹10,000 crore through a private placement of senior secured taxable redeemable non-convertible debentures, using 400 acres of land near the University of Hyderabad as "pre-collateral," Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu announced on Saturday.

At a press conference, the minister stated that the bonds, carrying a 9.35% coupon rate and listed on stock exchanges, drew investments from 37 entities, including international and mutual funds. ₹8,476 crore has already been deposited into TSIIC’s account. The funds have been allocated for welfare schemes such as farm loan waivers (₹2,146 crore), Rythu Bharosa (₹5,443 crore), and bonuses for cultivating fine rice varieties (₹947 crore).

Refuting allegations by BRS Working President K T Rama Rao, Babu clarified that ICICI Bank had not extended any loan to the state government but merely managed the escrow account for the bond proceeds. “ICICI Bank only acted as the account bank. No land was mortgaged, and the land is not under litigation,” he said. Backing the minister’s statement, ICICI Bank released a clarification: “We have not provided any mortgage loan to TSIIC.

The land was not mortgaged. We only acted as an account bank for the bond issuance.”

Babu emphasized that the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the state’s ownership of the 400-acre land. He also criticized the previous BRS administration for misleading the public and highlighted that the current bond rate of 9.35% is lower than the 10.9% interest rate paid by the former government for Kaleshwaram project loans.

Amid these developments, the government’s plan to develop the 400-acre parcel in Kancha Gachibowli for IT infrastructure has faced opposition from the University of Hyderabad Students' Union, as well as BRS and BJP leaders, who have raised concerns about land valuation and usage.