RBI · Reserve Bank of India ·

Auction of 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills

Distilled Policy Brief

  • Retail investors can participate on a non-competitive basis up to a maximum of 5 percent of the notified amount through the Retail Direct portal.

🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points

Treasury bills are short-term debt instruments issued by the Government of India through auctions conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, featuring non-competitive bidding allocations for retail investors up to 5 percent of the notified amount.

⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages

Analyze the role of Treasury bills in managing short-term government borrowing, monetary policy operations, and the financial inclusion of retail investors through platforms like RBI Retail Direct.

🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill

Economy

With reference to the auction of Government of India Treasury Bills, consider the following statements regarding retail investors: 1. Retail investors can participate on a non-competitive basis through the Retail Direct portal. 2. The allocation for retail investors is restricted to a maximum of 5 percent of the notified amount. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  • [A] 1 only
  • [B] 2 only
  • [C] Both 1 and 2
  • [D] Neither 1 nor 2
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
✓ Correct Option: [C] Both 1 and 2

Individual retail investors can participate in Government of India Treasury Bill auctions on a non-competitive basis through the RBI Retail Direct portal. Furthermore, the allocation for retail investors under this non-competitive scheme is restricted to a maximum of 5 percent of the notified amount. Therefore, both statements are correct.

Tark High-Yield Question Bank ⚡ Practice Full Test in Testing Arena ↗

🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)

UPSC Prelims 2021

Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.

Forensic Anchor: Cabinet Allocation of Business Rules & NCAP Framework
Examiner Trap Takeaway: UPSC swapped Central Pollution Control Board role with State Pollution Control Boards for state-level monitoring.

📚 Static Syllabus & Constitutional Linkages

Treasury Bills: Short-term money market instruments issued by the Central Government to bridge temporary mismatches in cash flows, having maturities of less than one year.