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Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) RBI meaning, CRR rate: The Cash Reserve Ratio in India is decided by RBI's Monetary Policy Committee in the periodic Monetary and Credit Policy.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) RBI meaning, CRR rate: The Cash Reserve Ratio in India is decided by RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee in the periodic Monetary and Credit Policy. The Reserve Bank of India takes stock of the CRR in every monetary policy review, which, at present, is conducted every six weeks. CRR is one of the major weapons in the RBI’s arsenal that allows it to maintain a desired level of inflation, control the money supply, and also liquidity in the economy. The lower the CRR, the higher liquidity with the banks, which in turn goes into investment and lending and vice-versa. Higher CRR can also negatively impact the economy as lesser availability of loanable funds, in turn, slows down investment. It thereby reduces the supply of money in the economy.

What is CRR or Cash Reserve Ratio?

The Reserve Bank of India or RBI mandates that banks store a proportion of their deposits in the form of cash so that the same can be given to the bank’s customers if the need arises. The percentage of cash required to be kept in reserves, vis-a-vis a bank’s total deposits, is called the Cash Reserve Ratio. The cash reserve is either stored in the bank’s vault or is sent to the RBI. Banks do not get any interest on the money that is with the RBI under the CRR requirements.

How is Cash Reserve Ratio calculated? CRR formula:

If the current CRR rate is 4%, a bank is required to store 4% of the total NDTL or the Net Demand and Time Liabilities in the form of cash. The bank cannot use this money for investment or lending.

CRR versus SLR

Unlike Statutory Liquidity Ratio or SLR, which can be maintained in either gold or cash, CRR needs to be maintained only in cash.

Objectives of Cash Reserve Ratio

There are two primary purposes of the Cash Reserve Ratio:

Since a part of the bank’s deposits is with the Reserve Bank of India, it ensures the security of the amount. It makes it readily available when customers want their deposits back.

Also, CRR helps in keeping inflation under control. At the time of high inflation in the economy, RBI increases the CRR, so that banks need to keep more money in reserves so that they have less money to lend further.

How does Cash Reserve Ratio help in times of high inflation?

At the time of high inflation, the government needs to ensure that excess money is not available in the economy. To that extent, RBI increases the Cash Reserve Ratio, and the amount of money that is available with the banks reduces. This curbs excess flow of money in the economy. When the government needs to pump funds into the system, it lowers the CRR rate, which in turn, helps the banks provide loans to a large number of businesses and industries for investment purposes. Lower CRR also boosts the growth rate of the economy.