Home › Circulars › RBI/2013-14/281

CRR Daily Minimum Maintenance Reduced to 95%

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/281 · issued 20 Sep 2013 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI reduced the daily minimum CRR maintenance from 99% to 95% of the requirement, effective from the fortnight starting September 21, 2013. This gives banks more flexibility in managing daily liquidity.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

Rohan, a treasury officer at ABC Bank in Mumbai, is preparing to approve a large client loan. Knowing the new 95% rule, he releases a portion of the bank’s CRR balance on a low‑activity day, confident that the average CRR over the fortnight will still meet the 95% requirement. He smiles, feeling the extra flexibility helps his team manage liquidity more smoothly.

What changed

The minimum daily maintenance of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was reduced from 99% to 95% of the required amount. This change applies to all scheduled commercial banks except Regional Rural Banks, effective from the fortnight beginning September 21, 2013.

What it means for you

Banks now have greater leeway to dip into their CRR balances during the fortnight without penalty, as long as the average is met. This eases short-term liquidity management and reduces the risk of inadvertent breaches on low-balance days.

What you must do

Who it affects

All scheduled commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks), Treasury and ALM departments, Compliance and risk management teams

❓ Common questions

What is the new daily minimum CRR maintenance percentage?

The daily minimum maintenance has been reduced from 99% to 95% of the required CRR, effective from the fortnight beginning September 21, 2013.

Does this circular apply to Regional Rural Banks?

No, the circular explicitly excludes Regional Rural Banks from its scope.

What was the previous daily minimum requirement before this change?

The previous requirement was 99% of the CRR, as per the circular dated July 23, 2013.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2013-14/281 DBOD.No.Ret.BC.55 /12.01.001/2013-14 September 20, 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 our Circular DBOD.No.Ret.BC.35/12.01.001/2013-14 dated July 23, 2013 on the captioned subject. 2.  As announced in the Press Release 2013-14/604 dated September 20, 2013 , it has been decided to reduce the minimum daily maintenance of the Cash Reserve Ratio from 99 per cent of the requirement to 95 per cent effective from the fortnight beginning September 21, 2013. Yours faithfully, (Sudha Damodar) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/281 · issued 20 Sep 2013. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Who does what — compliance checklist
💻 IT / Systems
  • Update your internal CRR monitoring systems to reflect the new 95% daily minimum threshold.
📜 Compliance
  • Inform treasury and ALM teams about the increased flexibility in daily CRR maintenance.
  • Review liquidity forecasting models to take advantage of the lower daily floor.
  • Ensure compliance with the revised requirement from the fortnight starting September 21, 2013.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are an IT/Systems lead at a bank this circular applies to (All scheduled commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks), Treasury and ALM departments, Compliance and risk management teams), your first concrete step on “CRR Daily Minimum Maintenance Reduced to 95%” is: “Update your internal CRR monitoring systems to reflect the new 95% daily minimum threshold.” (RBI issued this 20 Sep 2013).

  1. Circular: RBI/2013-14/281 -- CRR Daily Minimum Maintenance Reduced to 95%
  2. Issued: 20 Sep 2013
  3. Action required: Update your internal CRR monitoring systems to reflect the new 95% daily minimum threshold.
  4. Action required: Inform treasury and ALM teams about the increased flexibility in daily CRR maintenance.
  5. Action required: Review liquidity forecasting models to take advantage of the lower daily floor.
  6. Action required: Ensure compliance with the revised requirement from the fortnight starting September 21, 2013.
  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.

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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=8444&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.
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