Auction of 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills
Distilled Policy Brief
- Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are short-term debt instruments issued by the Government of India in three tenors: 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day, to manage short-term cash mismatches.
- State Governments, Union Territories, eligible Provident Funds, designated Foreign Central Banks, and retail investors can participate in the auction on a non-competitive basis.
- Retail investors can bid through the RBI's Retail Direct portal, with their allocation capped at a maximum of 5 percent of the notified auction amount.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
Treasury Bills are zero-coupon, deep-discount securities issued only by the Central Government (not State Governments) through RBI's E-Kuber platform.
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Allowing retail participation in government securities auctions via the Retail Direct Scheme democratizes public debt ownership, deepens the domestic bond market, and channels household savings into secure government instruments.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
With reference to Treasury Bills (T-Bills) in India, consider the following statements: 1. They are short-term debt instruments issued by both the Central Government and State Governments to manage short-term cash mismatches. 2. State Governments, Union Territories, and designated Foreign Central Banks can participate in T-Bill auctions on a non-competitive basis, with their allocation kept outside the notified amount. 3. Retail investors can participate on a non-competitive basis through the RBI's Retail Direct portal, with their allocation capped at a maximum of 5 percent of the notified amount. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- [A] 1 and 2 only
- [B] 2 and 3 only
- [C] 1 and 3 only
- [D] 1, 2 and 3
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect because Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are issued only by the Government of India (Central Government); State Governments in India do not issue T-Bills. Statements 2 and 3 are correct as State Governments, UTs, and designated Foreign Central Banks can participate on a non-competitive basis outside the notified amount, while retail investors can bid via the RBI Retail Direct portal with their allocation capped at 5% of the notified amount.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (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.