Reserve Bank of India - Publications (2024)

* If the day of payment falls on a holiday, the payment is made on theday after the holiday.

Payment

Payment for purchase of 14 and 91-day T-bills by successful bidders hasto be made on the Saturday following the Friday auction; and payment by successful biddersfor 182-day and 364-day T-bills has to be made by successful bidders on the followingThursday. Payment by successful bidders at the auction are required to be made bycash/cheque drawn on the Reserve Bank of India or by Banker’s Pay Order.

Participation

Provident funds can participate in 14 and 91-day T-bill auctions asnon-competitive bidders. Provident funds as yet are not allowed to purchase 182-day and364-day T-bills as non-competitive bidders. Participation as non-competitive bidders wouldmean that provident funds need not quote the rate of yield at which they desire to buythese bills. The Reserve Bank allots bids to the non-competitive bidders at the weightedaverage yield arrived at on the basis of the yields quoted by accepted competitive bids atthe auction. Allocations to non-competitive bidders are outside the amount notified forsale. In other words, provident funds do not face any uncertainty in purchasing thedesired amount of T-bills from the auctions.

Where to purchase from?

T-bills auctions are held at the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai. Forthis purpose the provident funds need to submit their bids to Mumbai office of the ReserveBank in the prescribed form.

Those provident funds located outside Mumbai could send their bids wellin advance either through fax (No. 022-2693332) or by mail to the Chief General Manager,Public Accounts Department, Reserve Bank of India, Fort, Mumbai – 400 001.

Dated Securities

Government paper with tenor beyond one year is known as dated security.At present, there are dated securities with a tenor up to 20 years in the market.

Auction/Sale

Dated securities are sold through auctions or through sale. Actually,the sale or auction in dated security would mean that the coupon for the security iseither auctioned or is fixed. Fixed coupon securities are sometimes also sold on tap thatis kept open for a few days.

Announcement

Though there is no calendar for G-secs sale, the Government of Indiaand the Reserve Bank issue a press release to announce the sale. The press release iswidely reported in the print media and wire agencies. The government of India also issuesan advertisem*nt in the leading financial newspapers. The announcement of auctions/salesand their results are also published on the Reserve Bank website (URL:http://www.rbi.org.in)

Amount

Subscriptions can be for a minimum amount of Rs.10,000 and in multiplesof Rs.10,000.

Where are the sales held?

Auctions and sales are normally conducted at the office of the ReserveBank of India, Mumbai. Provident funds can submit their competitive bids/applications inthe prescribed form available at the time of auction/sale of securities to the ChiefGeneral Manager, Public Debt Office, Reserve Bank of India, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 (Fax:022-266 2721/022-266 0817).

Payment

In the case of auctions, the payment by successful bidders has to bemade normally on the day following the auction day. In case of fixed coupon/tap sales,payment has to accompany the application form. The payment has to be made by cash/chequedrawn on the Reserve Bank of India or by Banker’s Pay order.

State Government Securities

These are securities issued by the state governments. The issues arealso managed and serviced by the Reserve Bank of India.

The tenor of state government securities is normally ten years. Stategovernment securities are available for a minimum amount of Rs.1,000 and in multiples ofRs.1,000. These are available at a fixed coupon rate. Of late, however, some stategovernments have started auctioning their own securities. These securities could bepurchased through a wide network of offices of both, the Reserve Bank of India and theState Bank of India and its associate banks.

Availability of G-secs

Apart from purchasing government securities from the Reserve Bank ofIndia through its auctions/sales, all types of government paper can be purchased from thesecondary market. Accredited Primary Dealers and Satellite Dealers also purchase and sellsecurities.

Even the Reserve Bank of India sells government securities through its open marketoperations window. The list of securities available from the Reserve Bank’s openmarket operations window is issued by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time and iswell-publicised. Securities placed for sale on the Reserve Bank’s open marketoperations window can be purchased through its Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai,Hyderabad, Kanpur, New Delhi, and Mumbai offices.