On 17 June 2026 the Reserve Bank of India injected ₹72,300 crore of transient liquidity through two two-day Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auctions to address a sharp narrowing of surplus system liquidity.
Recent VRR Auctions (17 June 2026)
- Total injection: ₹72,300 crore via two two-day VRR auctions conducted on 17 June 2026.
- Breakdown: ₹50,016 crore at a cut-off rate of 5.26%; ₹22,284 crore in the second auction.
- Reversal date: Both operations are scheduled to reverse on 19 June 2026.
- Trigger: Surplus liquidity fell from ~₹1.51 lakh crore on 15 June to ₹23,881.21 crore on 16 June, largely due to advance tax outflows.
- Near-term outlook: Further VRR auctions are possible to manage expected GST and other temporary outflows.
About VRR and Liquidity Management
- Definition: VRR auctions are short-term repo operations where the auction clearing rate determines the repo rate for that operation.
- Tenure: Typically overnight to two-day; recent ops were two-day transient injections.
- Policy role: VRR is used by the RBI to address temporary mismatches in system liquidity under its Liquidity Adjustment Facility framework.
- Operational rules: Recent auctions followed RBI press release no. 2021-2022/1572 dated 20 January 2022.
IASPOINT Booster Facts
- Surplus liquidity measure: Reported daily as system surplus/deficit after LAF, reverse repo and CRR effects.
- Reversal concept: VRR injections have a pre-specified reversal date when funds are withdrawn from the system.
- Auction mechanics: Variable-rate format means bidders submit yields; cut-off equals auction clearing yield.