The Reserve Bank of India on December 23 unveiled a fresh set of liquidity measures, announcing large-scale government bond purchases and a foreign-exchange
swap to inject durable liquidity into the banking system.
The central bank said it will conduct open market operation (OMO) purchases of Government of India securities worth ₹2 lakh crore in four equal tranches of ₹50,000 crore each. The auctions are scheduled for December 29, January 5, January 12 and January 22.
In addition, the RBI will carry out a USD/INR buy-sell swap auction of $10 billion with a three-year tenor on January 13, 2026, as part of efforts to stabilise funding conditions.
The measures come after liquidity in the banking system slipped into deficit following sizeable outflows linked to advance tax and GST payments. System liquidity currently stands at a deficit of about ₹54,852 crore, after remaining in surplus for nearly two months.
Market participants said the size of the announced OMO purchases is at the higher end of expectations and could help cool bond yields. The benchmark 10-year government bond yield has risen around 12 basis points this month to 6.63% amid tighter liquidity and increased state-level debt supply.
The RBI’s bond purchases and FX swap operations are also expected to offset the impact of recent dollar sales by the central bank aimed at containing weakness in the rupee.
