The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will auction investment limits for overseas investors on May 16, for the purchase of government debt securities worth Rs 3,340 crore.

The auction will be conducted on NSE’s ebid platform from 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm, after the close of market hours, the exchange said in a circular today.

The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in the debt, up to the limit purchased.

A mock bidding session will be conducted today to check the system’s performance.

Depository data showed that total investments, including limits acquired by foreign investors through auction route, stood at Rs 1,36,660 crore till March 12, which was 97.61 per cent of the total permitted investment limit of Rs 1,40,000 crore in government debt securities.

Accordingly, NSE has decided to “conduct an auction for the allocation of unutilised debt limits on March 16, 2016’’.

During the earlier auctions, government bonds have been subscribed multiple times, given the huge interest among foreign investors.

To boost the inflows of foreign funds, the limit for overseas investors in central government was hiked to Rs 1.4 lakh crore from April 4 and it will be further increased to Rs 1.44 lakh crore from July 5. Earlier, the limit was Rs 1,35,400 crore.

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