Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate by 150 basis points from 10.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent during September 20, 2013 to October 29, 2013 and increased the repo rate by 50 basis points from 7.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent during the same period. The policy initiatives announced by RBI are aimed at supporting growth for the development of the economy and anchoring inflationary expectations.

RBI has taken the following measures to improve liquidity conditions in the market:

i)  reduction in the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate from 10.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent;

ii) reduction in the minimum daily Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) balance maintained by the banks to 95 per cent of the requirement from 99 per cent;

iii) introduction of weekly variable rate term repos of 7-day and 14-day tenors for an amount equivalent to 0.5 per cent of the Net Demand and Time Liability (NDTL) of the banking system; and

iv) open market purchase auctions since August 2013, thereby injecting primary liquidity of Rs. 285.9 billion into the banking system.

The RBI has also provided refinance facility of Rs. 5,000 crore to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to ease liquidity stress faced by medium, micro and small enterprises.

This was stated by Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena, in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Marginal Standing Facility cut and liquidity measures support growth while repo and CRR adjustments anchor inflation expectations. The Reserve Bank combined a reduction in the Marginal Standing Facility rate with an increase in the repo rate to influence short term funding costs, while operational measures - lowering the minimum daily Cash Reserve Ratio balance, introducing weekly variable rate 7 day and 14 day term repos indexed to a share of system NDTL, conducting open market purchase auctions, and providing a refinance facility to SIDBI - were deployed to improve liquidity and support credit to medium, micro and small enterprises.