PANAJI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fixed Goa’s Ways and Means Advance (WMA) limit at Rs 258 crore for the current financial year, enabling the State to manage temporary mismatches between receipts and expenditure.
Ways and Means Advances are short-term liquidity facilities extended by the RBI to State Governments and Union Territories to help them tide over cash flow imbalances without immediately resorting to market borrowings.
The RBI, had in June, 2024, last revised the WMA limit for States and UTs to Rs 60,118 crore from the earlier Rs 47,010 crore, providing greater fiscal flexibility.
Subsequently, following a shift in banking arrangements of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi to the RBI, the WMA limit for GNCTD was fixed at Rs 890 crore with effect from January 9, 2026. As a result, the aggregate WMA ceiling for all States and UTs has risen to Rs 61,008 crore, up from Rs 60,118 crore.
Along with the Special Drawing Facility (SDF) and Overdraft (OD) facility, WMAs form a crucial part of states’ cash management toolkit. These financial accommodation instruments are governed under the RBI Act, 1934.
The revised limits are expected to help states, including Goa, better manage their fiscal position and ensure smoother handling of short-term cash flow pressures during the financial year.
