RBI · Reserve Bank of India ·

Calendar for Auction of Government of India Treasury Bills

Distilled Policy Brief

  • The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the Central Government, released the quarterly auction calendar for Treasury Bills to manage short-term sovereign debt obligations.
  • Treasury Bills are short-term zero-coupon debt instruments issued by the Central Government in tenors of 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day to meet immediate liquidity requirements.
  • The RBI retains operational flexibility to alter the timing and quantum of T-Bill issuances depending on evolving liquidity conditions and government cash flow needs.

🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points

Treasury Bills are zero-coupon short-term securities issued ONLY by the Central Government (not State Governments) at a discount and redeemed at par value.

⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages

Publishing advance government borrowing calendars improves financial market transparency, stabilizes money market yield curves, and aids institutional liquidity management.

🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill

Economy

With reference to Treasury Bills (T-Bills) in India, consider the following statements: 1. Treasury Bills are short-term zero-coupon debt instruments issued by both the Central and State Governments to manage cash flow mismatches. 2. T-Bills are issued in standard tenors of 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day. 3. The Reserve Bank of India retains operational flexibility to modify the notified quantum and timing of T-Bill auctions based on evolving liquidity conditions. 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
✓ Correct Option: [B] 2 and 3 only

Statement 1 is incorrect because Treasury Bills are issued exclusively by the Central Government, not State Governments. Statements 2 and 3 are correct as T-Bills are zero-coupon instruments issued in tenors of 91, 182, and 364 days, and the RBI retains full operational flexibility to alter auction timing and amounts in response to market requirements.

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 vs Cash Management Bills: T-Bills are regular money market instruments issued for standard tenors (91, 182, 364 days), whereas Cash Management Bills (CMBs) are non-standard, flexible instruments issued for maturities under 91 days.
State Development Loans (SDLs): State Governments do not have the statutory authority to issue Treasury Bills; they manage long-term public borrowing through SDLs and short-term mismatches via Ways and Means Advances (WMA).