RBI to auction ₹23,000 crore worth of Treasury Bills on October 21

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RBI Treasury Bill auction

Highlights

RBI will auction ₹8,000 crore of 91-day, ₹8,000 crore of 182-day and ₹7,000 crore of 364-day Treasury Bills on October 21.
The auction will be held via the E-Kuber system using the multiple-price method between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on October 21, 2026, with payment due on October 22, 2026.
Non-competitive allocation for retail investors will be limited to a maximum of 5 percent of the notified amount, and they can place bids through the Retail Direct portal.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Auction size and process

According to the RBI press release, the notified amount has been set at ₹8,000 crore for the 91-day Treasury Bill, ₹8,000 crore for the 182-day Treasury Bill and ₹7,000 crore for the 364-day Treasury Bill. The sale will be subject to the terms of the Government of India's general notification F.No.4(2)-B(W&M)/2018 dated March 26, 2025, as amended from time to time.

The auction will be conducted in a price-based format using the multiple-price method. Competitive bids must be submitted electronically through RBI's E-Kuber system from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on October 21, 2026, while non-competitive bids must be submitted from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The auction results will be announced the same day, while successful bidders must make payment on October 22, 2026.

Physical bids will be accepted only in the event of a system failure. Such bids must be submitted to the Public Debt Office in the prescribed form before the close of auction hours, and the form can be downloaded from the RBI website.

Eligible investors and retail participation

State governments, Union Territories with legislatures, eligible provident funds in India, designated foreign central banks, and other persons or institutions specified by the RBI may participate on a non-competitive basis. Allocations under this category will be outside the notified amount.

Individual investors may also participate on a non-competitive basis as retail investors. Allocation for retail investors will be limited to a maximum of 5 percent of the notified amount, and they may also submit bids through the Retail Direct portal.

In the event of technical difficulties, the Core Banking Operations Team may be contacted, while the IDMD auction team will be available for other operational issues related to the auction.

Our previous report discussed the sharp increase in states' market borrowings for Q3 FY2027 and the SGS issuance trends outlined in RBI's auction calendar. It noted that net SGS issuance is expected to reach ₹2.3 lakh crore after redemption adjustments, with a large share of additional borrowing coming from states such as Maharashtra, West Bengal and Haryana. It also highlighted the expanding adoption of the Benchmark Issuance Strategy (BIS) by several states and Union Territories.

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