What is the repo rate?
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The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI or the Reserve Bank of India lets commercial banks borrow money
The repo rate and reverse repo rate are important monetary policy tools used by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to manage liquidity and maintain price stability in the economy. Changes in these rates influence borrowing costs for banks and, over time, can affect lending and deposit rates offered to customers.
Understanding these rates helps explain how monetary policy works, though their impact on retail loan interest rates depends on how banks transmit policy changes.
What is Repo Rate?
The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities as collateral. The term “repo” comes from repurchase agreement, where banks sell securities to the RBI with an agreement to buy them back at a later date. As per the latest RBI policy applicable in 2025, the Repo Rate in India remains at 6%.
The repo rate is the RBI's main tool for controlling the flow of money in the economy. It helps manage inflation and support growth.
During times of high inflation, the RBI raises the repo rate. This makes borrowing more expensive for banks, which in turn lend less money to the public.
This reduces the money supply and helps control rising prices. Conversely, during a slowdown, the RBI cuts the repo rate to encourage borrowing and support economic activity.
The reverse repo rate applies when the case gets reversed. So, when the RBI needs to borrow funds from commercial banks, it is charged the reverse rate. The system in this case also works the same way, but in reverse. Here, the RBI pays the reverse repo rate to the commercial banks on the funds borrowed by selling them securities. After purchasing securities from commercial banks, the RBI sells them back at a later date and at a specified price.
As per the latest RBI policy applicable in 2025, the Reverse Repo Rate in India remains at 3.35%.
The reverse repo rate helps the RBI soak up extra cash from the banking system. Basically, it is mainly used to absorb surplus liquidity and manage inflationary risks. When there's a risk of high inflation, the RBI may increase this rate.
This encourages banks to deposit more money with the RBI to earn interest-based returns. As a result, banks have less money available to lend, which helps moderate excess liquidity in the economy.
To help you understand the differences between the two interest rates, here is a detailed repo rate vs reverse repo rate list.
Aspect | Repo Rate | Reverse Repo Rate |
Borrower and Lender Specifics | RBI is the lender and commercial banks are borrowers | Commercial banks are lenders and RBI is the borrower |
Importance | Helps RBI manage short-term liquidity needs of banks | Helps RBI absorb excess liquidity from the system |
Rate of Interest | Higher than reverse repo rate | Lower than repo rate |
Applicable Interest | Defined in the repurchase agreement | Defined in the reverse repurchase agreement |
Mechanism | RBI temporarily purchases securities under a repurchase agreement | Banks park surplus funds with RBI |
In case of high interest rate | Borrowing becomes expensive, reducing credit flow | Excess liquidity reduces as banks deposit more funds |
In case of lower interest rate | Borrowing becomes cheaper, encouraging lending | Banks lend more instead of parking funds |
These are the latest policy rates applicable in India (as per RBI notifications):
Repo Rate: 6.50%
MSF Rate: 6.75%
Bank Rate: 6.75%
Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%
Rates are subject to change based on RBI monetary policy decisions.
Additional Read: Bank Rate vs Repo Rate
The RBI revises Repo Rates and Reverse Repo Rates in India from time to time. The following table offers a quick summary of the historical Repo Rates in India over the last 15 years:
Date Effective From | Repo Rate |
April 9th, 2025 | 6.00% |
February 7th, 2025 | 6.25% |
December 6th, 2024 | 6.50% |
October 9th, 2024 | 6.50% |
August 8th, 2024 | 6.50% |
June 7th, 2024 | 6.50% |
February 8th, 2024 | 6.50% |
December 8th, 2023 | 6.50% |
October 6th, 2023 | 6.50% |
August 10th, 2023 | 6.50% |
June 8th, 2023 | 6.50% |
April 6th, 2023 | 6.50% |
February 8th, 2023 | 6.50% |
December 7th, 2022 | 6.25% |
September 30th, 2022 | 5.90% |
August 5th, 2022 | 5.40% |
June 8th, 2022 | 4.90% |
May 4th, 2022 | 4.40% |
April 8th, 2022 | 4.00% |
February 10th, 2022 | 4.00% |
December 8th, 2021 | 4.00% |
October 8th, 2021 | 4.00% |
August 6th, 2021 | 4.00% |
June 4th, 2021 | 4.00% |
February 5th, 2021 | 4.00% |
December 4th, 2020 | 4.00% |
October 9th, 2020 | 4.00% |
August 6th, 2020 | 4.00% |
May 22nd, 2020 | 4.00% |
March 27th, 2020 | 4.40% |
February 6th, 2020 | 5.15% |
December 5th, 2019 | 5.15% |
October 4th, 2019 | 5.15% |
August 7th, 2019 | 5.40% |
June 6th, 2019 | 5.75% |
April 4th, 2019 | 6.00% |
February 7th, 2019 | 6.25% |
December 5th, 2018 | 6.50% |
October 5th, 2018 | 6.50% |
August 1st, 2018 | 6.50% |
June 6th, 2018 | 6.25% |
April 5th, 2018 | 6.00% |
February 7th, 2018 | 6.00% |
December 6th, 2017 | 6.00% |
October 4th, 2017 | 6.00% |
August 2nd, 2017 | 6.00% |
June 7th, 2017 | 6.25% |
April 6th, 2017 | 6.25% |
February 8th, 2017 | 6.25% |
December 7th, 2016 | 6.25% |
October 4th, 2016 | 6.25% |
August 9th, 2016 | 6.50% |
June 7th, 2016 | 6.50% |
April 5th, 2016 | 6.50% |
February 2nd, 2016 | 6.75% |
December 1st, 2015 | 6.75% |
September 29th, 2015 | 6.75% |
August 4th, 2015 | 7.25% |
June 2nd, 2015 | 7.25% |
April 7th, 2015 | 7.50% |
February 3rd, 2015 | 7.75% |
December 2nd, 2014 | 8.00% |
September 30th, 2014 | 8.00% |
August 5th, 2014 | 8.00% |
June 3rd, 2014 | 8.00% |
April 1st, 2014 | 8.00% |
December 18th, 2013 | 7.75% |
October 29th, 2013 | 7.75% |
September 20th, 2013 | 7.50% |
June 17th, 2013 | 7.25% |
May 3rd, 2013 | 7.25% |
March 19th, 2013 | 7.50% |
December 18th, 2012 | 8.00% |
October 30th, 2012 | 8.00% |
July 31st, 2012 | 8.00% |
June 18th, 2012 | 8.00% |
April 17th, 2012 | 8.00% |
March 17th, 2011 | 6.75% |
January 25th, 2011 | 6.50% |
November 2nd, 2010 | 6.25% |
Calculation of Repo Rate by the Reserve Bank of India
When commercial banks are short on funds, they borrow from the RBI for a short period, usually overnight. They use government bonds as collateral for this loan.
The RBI lends them money by buying these bonds with an agreement to sell them back. For example, if the repo rate is 6% and a bank borrows ₹100 crore, the interest is calculated on an annualised basis but charged only for the borrowing duration.
Changes in the repo rate can influence:
Home loan, personal loan, and business loan interest rates (over time)
Fixed deposit and savings rates
Overall borrowing and spending trends in the economy
The transmission of rate changes depends on banks’ policies and market conditions.
Both the repo rate and the reverse repo rate are important monetary policy tools used by the Reserve Bank of India. The repo rate helps manage liquidity shortages in the banking system, while the reverse repo rate helps absorb excess funds. Together, they assist the RBI in maintaining monetary stability and controlling inflation.
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The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI or the Reserve Bank of India lets commercial banks borrow money
The reverse repo rate applies when the case gets reversed. So, when the RBI needs to borrow funds from commercial banks, it is charged the reverse rate.
The repo rate helps RBI manage short-term deficiency of funds while the reverse repo rate decreases and controls the overall flow of money in the economy.
Central banks might change both the repo rate and reverse repo rate for various reasons. With a high repo rate come higher borrowing costs which can help reduce inflation though it slows down the country’s economic growth. A low repo rate has the opposite effect. Similarly, with a high reverse repo rate, banks end up depositing more money with central banks which leads to a reduction in the money in the economic system, which helps in controlling inflation.
With high repo rates, the cost of funds goes up, making loans more expensive while the cost of the funds reduces for commercial banks leading to lower interest rates on loans in case of a lower repo rate.
The repo rate helps the RBI earn more by lending funds to commercial banks. The reverse repo rate, on the other hand, accumulates interest on money that has been deposited with the RBI, by the commercial banks.
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