The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the minimum daily Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) maintenance requirement for scheduled banks from 90% to 99%, effective from the reporting fortnight beginning October 16, 2026. The decision follows a review of prevailing liquidity conditions and aims to increase the proportion of prescribed reserves that banks must maintain on a daily basis.
Under the revised framework, scheduled banks will be required to maintain at least 99% of their prescribed CRR on each day of the reporting fortnight, compared with the existing minimum of 90%. The requirement to maintain the prescribed average CRR over the entire reporting fortnight remains unchanged.
CRR represents the portion of a bank's Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) that must be maintained as cash reserves with the RBI. The daily maintenance threshold determines the minimum amount of these prescribed reserves that banks must hold on individual days during the reporting period.
The revised requirement will reduce banks' flexibility in managing their daily cash positions. Banks may need to maintain higher reserve balances throughout the reporting fortnight, potentially influencing short-term liquidity management and funding costs. Depending on overall liquidity conditions, the change could also affect the funds available for lending and other banking operations.
Key Clarification: The RBI has increased the minimum daily CRR maintenance threshold, not the prescribed CRR rate itself. The existing requirement for average CRR compliance over the reporting fortnight continues to apply.
The revised instructions were communicated through an RBI notification signed by Manoranjan Padhy, Chief General Manager, Department of Regulation. The new daily maintenance requirement will apply from the fortnight commencing October 16, 2026. CASansaar