RBI to borrow ₹2 lakh crore for 4 days from 1 Oct
A longer VRRR: on 1 October RBI will take up to ₹2,00,000 crore for four days, covering the weekend, returned on Monday 5 October.
Official title: RBI to conduct 4-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR) auction under LAF on October 01, 2026 · Press Release 2026-2027/1225
What happened
RBI will hold a 4-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR) auction on Thursday, 1 October 2026. It wants to borrow up to ₹2,00,000 crore from banks. Bids can be placed between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM, and the money goes back to the banks on Monday, 5 October. The release says only that this follows a review of current and evolving liquidity conditions.
The four-day tenor runs over 2 October (a national holiday, Gandhi Jayanti) and the weekend, so cash lent now stays with RBI until the next working Monday. It is still a routine surplus-draining auction.
What it means for you
No direct effect on your deposits, loans or EMIs. This is an operation between RBI and banks.
What it means for businesses
Banks and other eligible bidders decide whether to lend their spare cash to RBI at the auction rate. For businesses and borrowers there is no direct change.
Links in this release, explained
- RBI press release of 13 February 2020 on VRRR operating rules
The February 2020 RBI release that set out the standard rules for variable rate auctions: who can bid, how bids are ranked and how the cut-off rate is set. Open it only if you want the mechanics; this auction follows it.
www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=49399
Read the original
Press release on rbi.org.in ↗ Official PDF ↗
This explainer simplifies the official text. If anything here differs from the RBI's release, the release is right.