US, India join hands to work for Vadodara’s civic makeover

NEW DELHI, NOV 4: US Embassy and US Treasury officials have collaborated with India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to procure municipal bonds to develop the city of Vadodara.

 “This is Vadodara’s first municipal bond that will provide funds for infrastructure in Vadodara. A written case study will also be published sharing lessons learned from Vadodara’s bond issuance that will benefit other Indian cities issuing their own municipal bonds in the future,’’ a statement from the US Embassy said.

Vadodara’s bond, which took place in March of this year, was oversubscribed by 10 times (`1,007 crore in bids received from 33 bidders) and was priced at a low yield of just 7.15 per cent. Vadodara is the second Indian city to issue a municipal bond with assistance from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance, following Pune’s bond issuance in 2017. Vadodara’s bond, which took place in March of this year, was oversubscribed by 10 times (Rs 1,007 crore in bids received from 33 bidders) and was priced at 7.15 per cent.

-TNIE