Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

With a view to monitoring compliance with statutory reserve requirements viz. Cash Reserve Ratio by the Scheduled Commercial Banks, Reserve Bank of India has prescribed statutory returns .

1 Maintenance of CRR
In terms of Section 42(1) of the RBI Act 1934, Scheduled Commercial Banks are required to maintain with RBI an average cash balance, the amount of which shall not be less than three per cent of the total of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) in India, on a fortnightly basis and RBI is empowered to increase the said rate of CRR to such higher rate not exceeding twenty percent of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) under the RBI Act, 1934. At present, effective from the fortnight beginning Jan 14, 2009, the rate of CRR is 5.25 per cent of the NDTL.

Demand Liabilities

'Demand Liabilities' include all liabilities which are payable on demand and they include current deposits, demand liabilities portion of savings bank deposits, margins held against letters of credit/guarantees, balances in overdue fixed deposits, cash certificates and cumulative/recurring deposits, outstanding Telegraphic Transfers (TTs), Mail Transfer (MTs), Demand Drafts (DDs), unclaimed deposits, credit balances in the Cash Credit account and deposits held as security for advances which are payable on demand. Money at Call and Short Notice from outside the Banking System should be shown against liability to others.

Time Liabilities

Time Liabilities are those which are payable otherwise than on demand and they include fixed deposits, cash certificates, cumulative and recurring deposits, time liabilities portion of savings bank deposits, staff security deposits, margin held against letters of credit if not payable on demand, deposits held as securities for advances which are not payable on demand, India Millennium Deposits and Gold Deposits.