Home › Circulars › RBI/2013-14/154

CRR Daily Minimum Hiked to 99% from July 27, 2013

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/154 · issued 23 Jul 2013 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI raised the daily minimum CRR maintenance from 70% to 99% of required reserves, effective July 27, 2013, to curb exchange market volatility. Banks must now hold almost full CRR every day, reducing intra-fortnight flexibility.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A branch operations officer in Indore, Mr. Kumar, must now ensure that his bank holds at least 99% of its required CRR every day. This means he needs to carefully manage the bank's daily cash flow to avoid any shortfalls. If the bank falls short of the required CRR, it may need to arrange overnight borrowing to meet the higher threshold, which could potentially raise short-term interest rates.

What changed

Previously, banks could maintain as low as 70% of required CRR on any day of the fortnight. Effective July 27, 2013, this floor was raised to 99%, meaning banks must now hold nearly the entire CRR amount daily.

What it means for you

This tightens liquidity management for banks, as they can no longer dip into CRR buffers on low-reserve days. It forces more precise daily cash planning and may increase demand for overnight funds, potentially raising short-term rates. The move was part of broader measures to stabilize the rupee.

What you must do

Who it affects

All scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs), Treasury and ALM desks, Liquidity management teams

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

What was the previous daily minimum CRR requirement?

Banks were allowed to maintain a minimum of 70% of required CRR on any day of the fortnight.

When does the new 99% requirement take effect?

It applies from the first day of the fortnight beginning July 27, 2013.

Why did RBI make this change?

The circular states it was part of additional measures to address exchange market volatility.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2013-14/154 DBOD.No.Ret.BC.35/12.01.001/2013-14 July 23, 2013 To All Scheduled Commercial Banks (Excluding Regional Rural Banks) Dear Sir, Section 42(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 - Change in Daily Minimum Cash Reserve Maintenance Requirement Please refer to Press Release 2013-2014/154 dated July 23, 2013 announcing additional measures to address exchange market volatility. 2. As mentioned therein, currently, banks are allowed to maintain a minimum of 70 per cent of the required Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) during a fortnight, which is applicable on all days of the reporting fortnight. It has been decided to increase the requirement of minimum daily CRR balance maintenance to 99 per cent effective from the first day of the fortnight beginning July 27, 2013. Yours faithfully, (Sudha Damodar) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/154 · issued 23 Jul 2013. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
🧰 Tools — save, print, templates & related
Most relevant forTreasury Team / ALMCompliance TeamRisk ManagementSenior Management / BoardInternal AuditData Science / Analytics
🛠 Banker’s toolkit — checklists & reply templates →
Related circulars · Department of Regulation
SFB Pillar 3 Disclosure Norms Aligned with BaselUCB Deposit Rate Disclosure & Uniformity Rules UpdatedLAB Deposit Rate Disclosure & Uniformity Rules TightenedPayments Banks: Interest Rates Must Match Disclosed ScheduleRBI Updates Bulk Deposit Rate Rules and Disclosure Timing
Browse all departments →
Who does what — compliance checklist
💻 IT / Systems
  • Update internal systems and reporting to reflect the new 99% maintenance requirement.
📜 Compliance
  • Review daily cash flow forecasts to ensure CRR balances never fall below 99% of required reserves.
  • Adjust intra-fortnight liquidity strategies to avoid penalties for shortfalls.
  • Coordinate with treasury to arrange overnight borrowing if needed to meet the higher daily threshold.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (All scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs), Treasury and ALM desks, Liquidity management teams), your first concrete step on “CRR Daily Minimum Hiked to 99% from July 27, 2013” is: “Review daily cash flow forecasts to ensure CRR balances never fall below 99% of required reserves.” (RBI issued this 23 Jul 2013).

  1. Circular: RBI/2013-14/154 -- CRR Daily Minimum Hiked to 99% from July 27, 2013
  2. Issued: 23 Jul 2013
  3. Action required: Review daily cash flow forecasts to ensure CRR balances never fall below 99% of required reserves.
  4. Action required: Adjust intra-fortnight liquidity strategies to avoid penalties for shortfalls.
  5. Action required: Coordinate with treasury to arrange overnight borrowing if needed to meet the higher daily threshold.
  6. Action required: Update internal systems and reporting to reflect the new 99% maintenance requirement.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

💬 Banker Discussion

Discuss this circular with fellow bankers — reply, upvote what helps, report what doesn’t belong. Be professional; no client data. Views are the commenter’s own, not BankPulse’s.

Loading comments…
BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=8263&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
Public beta — plain-English informational summaries. Always verify against the official RBI source (circular number cited on every page) before making compliance, credit, treasury, audit, or operational decisions. · Join our WhatsApp channel ↗
—