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₹600 crore

The most the first blue bond can raise, on a ₹100 crore base

India's first blue bond is for ports and coastal roads

Credit No. 32 28 September 2026 · 1 min read

India just got its first blue bond. Sagarmala Finance, the maritime lender the government set up last year, took bids today, 28 September, for 10-year bonds worth up to ₹600 crore. ICRA and CARE rate it AA+.

When I hear blue bond, I think of clean water, fishing and ocean energy. But its managing director says this money will go into maritime loans, new ports and coastal roads. So it is mostly infrastructure.

Also, ₹600 crore is the most it can raise. The base issue is only ₹100 crore, and the other ₹500 crore is a greenshoe, which it keeps only if investors bid enough.

The lender is also very new. It became an NBFC in June 2025 with ₹1,000 crore from the government. Between April 2025 and January 2026, it lent out just ₹150 crore, though it had sanctioned about ₹3,800 crore. Its board approved borrowing ₹8,000 crore in November 2025, but in December it still had not borrowed anything.

Only ₹100 crore of the ₹600 crore blue bond is fixed

Sagarmala Finance's 10-year blue bond, by part, in ₹ crore. The other ₹500 crore is a greenshoe, kept only if investors bid enough.

₹ CRORE, 10-YEAR BONDS RATED AA+

  • Base issue
  • Greenshoe option
Sagarmala Finance blue bond, ₹ crore: base issue 100 (16.7%), greenshoe option 500 (83.3%), most it can raise 600. 10-year bonds rated AA+.

The amount on offer before any greenshoe

The money is for maritime loans, new ports and coastal roads. The coupon and the amount taken were not public when this was drawn.

Provisional term sheet, as reported by Business Standard · Bid on 28 Sep 2026

Sources