The Finance Ministry announced on Wednesday that it would reduce additional borrowing to Rs 20,000 crore for the 2017-’18 fiscal year, down from the Rs 50,000 crore it earlier planned to raise, The Hindu reported.

“The government has reassessed additional borrowing requirements taking note of revenue receipts and expenditure pattern,” Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said. The Finance Ministry added that it had not accepted borrowings of Rs 15,000 crore in the last three auctions. “The remaining Rs 15,000 crore [of the Rs 30,000 crore borrowing to be cut] would be reduced from the notified borrowing programme of the ensuing weeks,” the ministry said.

The Centre had announced on December 27, 2017 that it would borrow an additional Rs 50,000 crore for the remainder of the fiscal year. The fiscal deficit for the year already exceeded the government’s target of 3.2% of Gross Domestic Product in November. The reduction in additional borrowing may prevent it from increasing further.

The stock market surged on Wednesday after the government announced a cut in borrowing, with the BSE Sensex closing above 35,000 points for the first time. Bank shares rallied the most, with Axis Bank being the top gainer on both the Sensex and the Nifty 50.