RBI's Open Market Operations and Forex Measures

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a series of measures to manage liquidity and stabilize the financial conditions as of December 23, 2025.

Open Market Operations (OMO) and Government Securities Purchases

• The RBI will conduct OMO purchase auctions for Government of India securities totaling ₹2,00,000 crore (approximately USD 22.34 billion).
• The purchases will be carried out in four tranches of ₹50,000 crore each on the following dates: 
  • December 29, 2025
  • January 05, 2026
  • January 12, 2026
  • January 22, 2026

Dollar Rupee (USD/INR) Buy/Sell Swap Auction

• A swap auction of $10 billion will be conducted with a tenor of three years.
• The swap is scheduled for January 13, 2026.

Objectives and Expected Outcomes

• The measures aim to infuse rupee liquidity and absorb excess dollar liquidity to control the inflated dollar rupee forward premium.
• Expected to bolster depleting dollar reserves due to RBI's intervention to support the rupee against U.S. tariffs.

RBI's Forex Market Activity

• In October 2025, the RBI sold a net of $11.88 billion in the forex market to curb the rupee's depreciation.
• From the RBI Bulletin: 
  • Purchased: $17.69 billion
  • Sold: $29.56 billion

Additional Liquidity Measures

• The RBI has purchased government bonds worth ₹6.5 lakh crore in 2025 to provide liquidity and manage forex market volatility.
• A $5 billion Dollar Rupee buy/sell swap was conducted on December 16, 2025.

Future Monitoring and Actions

The RBI will continue to monitor liquidity and market conditions and will implement measures as needed to maintain orderly liquidity conditions.