Question map
Consider the following statements : 1. Repo rate is the interest rate at which RBI lends to commercial banks for short period. 2. Reverse repo rate is the (interest rate which RBI pays to commercial banks on short- term deposits, 3. Gap between repo rate and reverse repo rate has been declining in India in the recent past. Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct as the Repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI provides short-term liquidity to banks against government securities under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) [2]. Statement 2 is correct as the Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI absorbs liquidity from banks, effectively paying interest on their short-term deposits [2]. Statement 3 is incorrect. Historically, the gap (corridor) between the repo and reverse repo rates was fixed at 100 basis points (1%) for a long period. While the RBI later narrowed this corridor to 25 basis points (0.25%) to reduce volatility [3], the gap has not been consistently 'declining' in the recent past; rather, it has been maintained at a fixed spread or adjusted based on policy stance. Since the question asks for the statement that is 'not correct', only statement 3 fits.
Sources
- [1] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 2: Money and Banking- Part I > The following are the major instruments/tools that RBI uses for conducting its monetary policy: > p. 61
- [2] Macroeconomics (NCERT class XII 2025 ed.) > Chapter 3: Money and Banking > 3.4 POLICY TOOLS TO CONTROL MONEY SUPPLY > p. 43
- [3] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 2: Money and Banking- Part I > Transmission of Repo Rate into Lending Rate > p. 89