More pain for PM Modi's debt plan as bonds find few takers, yields harden

Sovereign bonds in India have sold off for six consecutive months, hurt by concerns of a wider government deficit and higher oil prices

The biggest holders of India’s sovereign debt are dumping them.

State lenders have been selling Rs 4.7 billion ($73 million) of government bonds on average every day this year, hurt by deep portfolio losses, data from the Clearing Corp. of India show. Last year, their net daily inflows totaled Rs 368 million, and in 2016, the run rate was at Rs 3 billion a day.

Their sale in a market where there’s a paucity of buyers is contributing to a vicious downward spiral, where losses keep worsening. It will be difficult for debt auctions to sail through without participation from the