Archive · 5 Sep 2026
RBI Absorbs ₹6.02 Lakh Crore as Record Liquidity Surges
Banks had much more money than they needed.
The Reserve Bank of India temporarily took some of this extra money through two auctions.
Banks placed more than ₹6 lakh crore with the central bank for three days.
They received an interest rate of 5.24 per cent in both auctions.
The banking system still had a surplus of about ₹10.32 lakh crore.
Much of the extra money came from special foreign-currency deposits and other forex measures.
Government payments for salaries and pensions also added money around the end of the month.
Because there was so much money available, short-term interest rates fell.
The RBI conducted many similar auctions to move these rates closer to the repo rate.
The Reserve Bank of India absorbed ₹6,02,394 crore through two three-day VRRR auctions.
Banks parked ₹5,41,975 crore in the first auction and ₹60,419 crore in the second.
Both auctions had a cut-off rate of 5.24 per cent.
Banking-system liquidity was estimated at a surplus of around ₹10.32 lakh crore on September 3.
Special forex inflows and month-end government spending increased liquidity, pushing call-money rates down to 4.93 per cent.
- Who
- The Reserve Bank of India and banks participating in the VRRR auctions.
- What
- The RBI absorbed ₹6,02,394 crore through two three-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo auctions.
- When
- The auctions were conducted on Friday; the report was published on September 4, 2026, and liquidity data was cited as of September 3.
- Where
- India’s banking system and money markets; the report is datelined Mumbai.
- Why
- To absorb surplus liquidity and bring short-term money-market rates closer to the policy or repo rate.
- Total absorbed
- ₹6,02,394 crore
- First auction
- ₹5,41,975 crore accepted against a notified ₹7 lakh crore
- Second auction
- ₹60,419 crore accepted against a notified ₹1.5 lakh crore
- Cut-off rate
- 5.24 per cent in both auctions
- Liquidity surplus
- Around ₹10.32 lakh crore as of September 3
- Forex mobilisation
- $136.38 billion by August 31, including $127.23 billion through FCNR(B) deposits
- Call-money rate
- 4.93 per cent, or 0.32 percentage points below the policy rate
- VRRR operations
- 32 auctions were conducted between August and early September, with maturities from overnight to 14 days
