Govt to raise ₹23,000 crore via T-bills on October 21
RBI will auction 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills worth ₹23,000 crore on October 21, with payment on October 22.
Official title: Auction of 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills · Press Release 2026-2027/1343
What happened
RBI announced the next Treasury bill auction for Wednesday, October 21, 2026: ₹8,000 crore each of 91-day and 182-day bills and ₹7,000 crore of 364-day bills, ₹23,000 crore in total. Payment is due on October 22.
Bids go through e-Kuber: competitive bids between 10:30 and 11:30 am and non-competitive bids between 10:30 and 11:00 am. The auction uses the multiple-price method, and the result is announced the same day.
Individuals can bid through RBI Retail Direct, accepting the average rate. Up to 5% of the notified amount is kept for retail investors.
What it means for you
You can buy T-bills yourself through RBI Retail Direct for short-term lending to the government. Otherwise no direct effect.
What it means for businesses
Banks and companies use T-bills to park short-term cash. The auction sets short-term government rates.
Links in this release, explained
- General Notification on sale of Treasury Bills / Government securities (March 26, 2025)
The Government of India's standing rulebook for how its securities are sold at auction: who can bid, how bids are priced and how payment works. Each auction announcement points back to it.
rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/pdfs/GOI26032025_1.pdf - Scheme for Non-competitive Bidding Facility in the Auctions of Government Securities
The RBI circular that lets small investors take part in government auctions without naming a price. They are given bonds or bills at the average rate that emerges from the competitive bids. Read it if you want to know the limits and who qualifies.
www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12193&Mode=0 - RBI Retail Direct portal
RBI's free online platform where individuals can open an account and buy government bonds, treasury bills and state bonds directly, with no broker. Start here if you want to invest in these auctions yourself.
rbiretaildirect.org.in - RBI forms page (bid forms)
A page on the RBI website listing downloadable forms. The bid form here is only used on paper if the electronic system fails, so most readers can ignore it.
www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewForms.aspx
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.