RBI Annual Report 2025-26

CHAPTER XII

THE RESERVE BANK'S ACCOUNTS FOR 2025-26

PART 1: COMPLETE REVISION NOTE

1. Overall Financial Position

As at March 31, 2026, the Reserve Bank's balance-sheet size rose 20.6% year-on-year to ₹91,97,121.08 crore from ₹76,25,421.93 crore. Income increased 26.4%, expenditure 102.4%, and the year ended with surplus of ₹2,86,588.46 crore, up 6.7% from ₹2,68,590.07 crore.

• The increase in assets reflected higher domestic investments, gold and foreign investments, which rose 44.9%, 63.8% and 7.9%, respectively.

• On the liabilities side, revaluation accounts increased 63.4%; other liabilities increased 21.1%.

• Asset composition at March 31, 2026: domestic assets 29.1%; foreign currency assets, gold including gold deposit/gold held in India, and loans and advances to financial institutions outside India together 70.9%.

• A provision of ₹1,09,379.64 crore was made and transferred to the Contingency Fund. No provision was made for the Asset Development Fund.

EXAM ALERT: Core figures: Balance sheet ₹91,97,121.08 crore; income ₹4,27,684.15 crore; expenditure ₹1,41,091.69 crore; surplus ₹2,86,588.46 crore.

2. Independent Auditors' Report

The accounts comprise the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Schedules, Statement of Significant Accounting Policies and Notes to Accounts. The independent auditors reported an unmodified opinion that the financial statements present the relevant financial position and results in accordance with the applicable framework.

• The audit was conducted in accordance with Standards on Auditing issued by ICAI. Auditors' responsibilities included risk assessment, testing evidence, evaluating accounting policies and estimates, and assessing going-concern-related matters.

• Statutory Auditors are appointed by the Central Government under Section 50 of the RBI Act, 1934. For 2025-26, the accounts were audited by M/s Sorab S. Engineer & Co., M/s Kalyaniwalla & Mistry LLP, M/s S. K. Patodia & Associates and M/s Walker Chandiok & Co. LLP.

3. Balance Sheet, March 31, 2026

Major item	2024-25	2025-26	Exam significance
Total liabilities/assets	₹76,25,421.93 cr	₹91,97,121.08 cr	+20.6%
Reserve Fund	₹6,500 cr	₹6,500 cr	Unchanged
Deposits	₹17,17,404.03 cr	₹19,16,692.11 cr	Major liability
Contingency Fund	₹5,42,426.96 cr	₹5,68,333.19 cr	Risk provision
Asset Development Fund	₹22,974.68 cr	₹22,974.68 cr	Unchanged
Revaluation Accounts	₹13,26,793.43 cr	₹21,68,530.23 cr	+63.4%
Other Liabilities	₹3,21,248.79 cr	₹3,89,074.99 cr	+21.1%
Notes Issued	₹36,87,827.04 cr	₹41,24,766.88 cr	+11.8%
Foreign Investments, BD	₹14,32,572.10 cr	₹15,32,082.73 cr	Asset
Domestic Investments, BD	₹15,58,573.83 cr	₹22,58,591.14 cr	+44.9%
Loans & Advances	₹4,34,710.24 cr	₹4,77,218.69 cr	Asset
Foreign Investments, ID	₹34,50,960.74 cr	₹37,36,151.53 cr	+7.9%

Banking Department asset shares in the balance sheet include Gold-BD 11.9%, Investments-Foreign-BD 24.56% and Loans & Advances 5.19%; Investments-Foreign-ID alone accounted for 57.28% of the balance sheet.

4. Income Statement

Item	2024-25 (₹ cr)	2025-26 (₹ cr)	Change
Income	3,38,308.09	4,27,684.15	+26.4%
Expenditure	69,714.02	1,41,091.69	+102.4%
Available balance/net income	2,68,594.07	2,86,592.46	Higher
Transfer to funds	4.00	4.00	Unchanged
Surplus payable to Central Government	2,68,590.07	2,86,588.46	+6.7%

• The income statement shows ₹4 crore total transfers to specified funds, leaving the surplus payable to the Central Government.

EXAM ALERT: Do not confuse available balance ₹2,86,592.46 crore with surplus payable ₹2,86,588.46 crore. Difference = ₹4 crore transfers.

5. Schedules Forming Part of Accounts

Schedule	2025-26 figure / key content
1. Other Reserves	₹244.00 crore: NIC (Long Term Operations) Fund ₹35 crore + National Housing Credit (LTO) Fund ₹209 crore.
2. Deposits	Government ₹5,043.89 cr; Banks ₹8,10,124.48 cr; Financial Institutions Outside India ₹1,64,785.85 cr; Others ₹9,36,737.89 cr; total ₹19,16,692.11 cr.
3. Revaluation Accounts	₹21,68,530.23 cr, entirely CGRA at year-end; IRA-FS, IRA-RS and FCVA nil.
4. Other Liabilities	₹3,89,074.99 cr; includes PFCVA ₹43,403.23 cr, payables ₹7,682.46 cr, gratuity/superannuation ₹39,405.30 cr, surplus payable ₹2,86,588.46 cr, bills payable ₹6.80 cr and miscellaneous ₹11,817.78 cr.
5. Notes Issued	₹41,24,766.88 cr.
6. Notes/Rupee Coin/Small Coin	₹11.72 cr.
7. Gold	₹10,94,309.49 cr total; BD ₹7,06,162.36 cr, ID ₹3,88,147.13 cr.
8. Foreign Investments	₹52,68,234.26 cr.
9. Domestic Investments	₹22,58,591.14 cr.
10. Loans & Advances	₹4,77,218.69 cr.
11. Subsidiaries/Associates	₹2,063.60 cr.
12. Other Assets	₹96,223.96 cr.
13. Interest income	₹2,35,579.79 cr: domestic ₹1,00,364.54 cr; foreign ₹1,35,215.25 cr.
14. Other income	₹1,92,104.36 cr: domestic -₹335.93 cr; foreign ₹1,92,440.29 cr.
15. Agency Charges	₹4,880.05 cr.

6. Significant Accounting Policies

• Financial statements are prepared under the RBI Act, 1934 and RBI General Regulations, 1949. Historical cost is followed except where revaluation or amortisation is specifically prescribed.

• Revenue and expenditure are recognised on accrual basis, except interest on advances from banks where realisation is considered certain. Dividends are recognised on accrual basis.

• Balances remaining unclaimed/outstanding for more than 3 years in certain transit accounts are reviewed and, where appropriate, charged to income/expenditure in the year of payment.

• Foreign-currency income and expenditure are recorded at exchange rates prevailing on the transaction date. Exchange gains/losses on foreign currencies and gold are accounted for using weighted-average cost.

• Gold, including gold deposits, is revalued daily at 90% of the daily London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) gold price. Unrealised gains/losses are accounted for in CGRA.

• Foreign-currency assets/liabilities, excluding foreign currency received under swaps that are in the nature of repos, are translated daily at prevailing market exchange rates; unrealised gains/losses are accounted for in CGRA.

• Foreign securities, other than Treasury Bills, Commercial Papers and certain Held-to-Maturity securities, are marked-to-market daily. Unrealised gains/losses go to IRA-FS; credit balances are carried forward, while debit balances are charged to the Contingency Fund and reversed in the following accounting year.

• Foreign T-Bills and Commercial Papers are carried at cost adjusted for daily amortisation of discount/premium. Profit/loss on sale is recognised with reference to amortised book value.

• Forward contracts are marked-to-market on a half-yearly basis. Net MTM gains go to FCVA; net losses are credited to PFCVA. On maturity, realised gain/loss is recognised in income and the corresponding FCVA/PFCVA amount is reversed.

• Off-market swap differences are amortised over the contract period through the Swap Amortisation Account. Underlying contract amounts are not periodically amortised.

• Foreign-currency repurchase transactions are treated as lending/borrowing of foreign currencies and shown under Deposits/Loans and Advances. Derivatives such as interest-rate futures, currency futures, interest-rate swaps and OIS are periodically MTM, with gains/losses in income.

• Security-lending transactions: securities remain part of RBI's assets and continue to be amortised/interest-accrued and marked-to-market.

• Exchange-Traded Currency Derivatives are MTM with resulting gain/loss recognised in income.

• Domestic investments in rupee securities and oil bonds, subject to stated exceptions, are MTM at the last business day of each week ending Friday and at month-end. Unrealised gains/losses are accounted for in IRA-RS. T-Bills are at cost adjusted for daily amortisation.

• Investments in subsidiaries/associates are valued at cost. Securities earmarked for specified staff funds are treated as Held-to-Maturity and held at amortised cost. Domestic investment transactions are accounted for on settlement date.

• LAF Repo and MSF are treated as lending/borrowing and shown under Loans and Advances. LAF Reverse Repo and SDF are treated as deposits and shown under Deposits-Others.

7. Fixed Assets and Employee Benefits

Asset category	Useful life / depreciation
Electrical installations, UPS, motor vehicles, furniture, fixtures, CVPS/SBS machines etc.	5 years, 20%
Computers, servers, microprocessors, printers, software, laptops, e-book readers etc.	3 years, 33.33%

• Fixed assets are generally at cost less depreciation. Easily portable electronic assets costing up to ₹1 lakh and individual software items costing up to ₹1 lakh are capitalised/treated as prescribed in the policy, with depreciation calculated monthly on a pro-rata basis.

• Depreciation on additions during the year is pro-rata from the month of capitalisation; disposals are depreciated up to the month of disposal. Subsequent expenditure on an existing asset is depreciated over the remaining useful life if capitalised.

• Land held on lease for more than 99 years is treated as perpetual lease/freehold and is not amortised. Leasehold land up to 99 years is amortised over the lease period; freehold land is not amortised.

• Buildings have a 30-year life and straight-line depreciation. For buildings on leasehold land, depreciation is over the lesser of 30 years or the lease period.

• Employee provident-fund contributions are charged to income/expenditure for the relevant year. Other long-term employee benefits are provided based on actuarial valuation using the Projected Unit Credit method.

8. Liabilities, Reserves and Risk Provisions

• Capital remains ₹5 crore. RBI was constituted as a private shareholders' bank in 1935 with initial paid-up capital ₹5 crore; nationalisation took effect January 1, 1949 and paid-up capital continues at ₹5 crore.

• Reserve Fund is ₹6,500 crore. The original Reserve Fund of ₹5 crore was created under Section 46 of the RBI Act, 1934 from Central Government contribution towards currency liability of the Government.

• Other Reserves comprise National Industrial Credit (Long Term Operations) Fund ₹35 crore and National Housing Credit (Long Term Operations) Fund ₹209 crore.

• The National Industrial Credit (LTO) Fund was created in July 1964 under Section 46C of the RBI Act, 1934, with initial corpus ₹10 crore; annual contributions are made to assist eligible financial institutions.

• National Housing Credit (LTO) Fund was set up January 1989 under Section 46D of the RBI Act, 1934 for extending financial accommodation to National Housing Bank; corpus was ₹50 crore and later enhanced by annual contributions.

• Two other funds under Section 46D, National Rural Credit (LTO) Fund and National Rural Credit (Stabilisation) Fund, are maintained by NABARD. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Fund receives ₹1 crore transferred to NABARD every year.

• Deposits include Government, banks, financial institutions outside India and others. Bank deposits declined 18.3% from ₹9,91,488.49 crore to ₹8,10,124.48 crore; deposits of financial institutions outside India increased 46.3% to ₹1,64,785.85 crore; deposits-others increased 54.0% to ₹9,36,737.89 crore.

• Risk provisions are maintained under Section 47 of the RBI Act, 1934. Capital, Reserve Fund and risk provisions form Available Realised Equity (ARE) under the Economic Capital Framework.

• Contingency Fund is a specific provision for unexpected/unforeseen contingencies, including depreciation in value of securities, risks from monetary/exchange-rate policy, systemic risks and special responsibilities. Balance at March 31, 2026 was ₹5,68,333.19 crore.

• Asset Development Fund was created in 1997-98 for investments in subsidiaries/associates and meeting internal capital expenditure. Balance at March 31, 2026 remained ₹22,974.68 crore.

EXAM ALERT: Economic Capital Framework: Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) is maintained in the range 4.5% to 7.5% of balance-sheet size; Central Board approved 6.5% for the Reserve Bank for 2025-26.

9. Revaluation Accounts

Account	Purpose / 2025-26 year-end
CGRA	Currency/gold/foreign-currency valuation gains/losses; balance ₹21,68,530.23 crore.
IRA-FS	Unrealised MTM gains/losses on foreign securities; nil at March 31, 2026.
IRA-RS	Unrealised MTM gains/losses on rupee securities; nil at March 31, 2026.
FCVA	Net MTM gains on forward contracts; nil at March 31, 2026.
PFCVA	Provision for MTM net losses on forward contracts; ₹43,403.23 crore at March 31, 2026.

• CGRA reflects major risks from currency, interest rate and gold-price movements. If CGRA is insufficient to absorb gold/currency losses, the balance is replenished from the CF.

• At March 31, 2026, IRA-FS had a debit balance of ₹(-)90,833.07 crore on March 31, 2026 after adjustment against CF; this was reversed on the first working day of the following year, leaving IRA-FS nil at year-end as reported.

• IRA-RS had a balance of ₹16,843.35 crore at March 31, 2025 and was nil at March 31, 2026 after hardening of yields across the curve.

• PFCVA balance of ₹43,403.23 crore at March 31, 2026 represented provision for net unrealised losses on outstanding forward contracts; it was reversed on the first working day of the following accounting year.

10. Issue Department and Notes Issued

• Liabilities of the Issue Department reflect the quantum of currency notes in circulation. Under Section 34(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, all banknotes issued by RBI must be backed by assets held in the Issue Department.

• Notes Issued increased 11.8% from ₹36,87,827.04 crore to ₹41,24,766.88 crore between March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

• Digital-form banknote values reported: CBDC-R/e₹-R ₹771.66 crore at March 31, 2026; CBDC-W/e₹-W was nil at March 31, 2026.

• Bills Payable increased from ₹0.09 crore to ₹6.80 crore. Miscellaneous liabilities were ₹11,817.78 crore.

• The Reserve Bank had earlier transferred ₹719.37 crore of value of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs) to Other Liabilities as on June 30, 2018. During 2025-26, ₹5.42 crore was paid towards exchange value of eligible SBNs; cumulative payment stood at ₹51.84 crore.

11. Assets of the Reserve Bank

• Gold-Banking Department was ₹7,06,162.36 crore at March 31, 2026. Gold held by RBI totalled 880.52 metric tonnes, up from 879.58 tonnes. Of this, 312.32 tonnes were held as backing for notes and 568.20 tonnes, including gold deposit, were held as an asset of the Banking Department.

• Foreign Currency Assets comprise, inter alia, deposits with foreign banks, deposits with commercial banks overseas, foreign T-Bills/securities and SDR acquired from the Government of India. FCA is reflected under Investments-Foreign-BD and Investments-Foreign-ID.

• Investments-Foreign-ID are eligible FCA under Section 33(6) of the RBI Act, 1934 and constitute Investments-Foreign-ID on the Issue Department side.

• Domestic investments rose 44.9% from ₹15,58,573.83 crore to ₹22,58,591.14 crore, mainly due to net purchases of Government securities.

• RBI provides short-term accommodation to Central Government through Ways and Means Advances (WMA) and Overdraft (OD), and to States/UTs through WMA and Special Drawing Facility under Section 17(5) of the RBI Act, 1934. WMA limits are fixed in consultation with GoI for the Centre and based on Advisory Committee recommendations for States/UTs.

• Loans and advances to commercial/co-operative banks include amounts outstanding under LAF, MSF and Special Liquidity Facility. The balance increased 0.9% from ₹2,53,663 crore to ₹2,56,062 crore.

• Loans and advances to NABARD were nil. Loans and advances to others, including NHB, SIDBI and liquidity support to PDs, were ₹26,190.46 crore at March 31, 2026, down 28.1%.

• Loans and advances to financial institutions outside India increased 45.1% from ₹1,11,933.06 crore to ₹1,62,459.64 crore, reflecting outstanding reverse-repo transactions.

• Other Assets increased 23.3% to ₹96,223.96 crore and comprise fixed assets net of depreciation, accrued income, SAA, RFCA, miscellaneous assets, loans/advances to staff and amounts spent on projects pending completion.

12. Foreign Currency Assets: High-Value Footnotes

Item	2025-26 fact
FCA total	₹52,68,234.26 crore
Investments-Foreign-BD	₹15,32,082.73 crore
Investments-Foreign-ID	₹37,36,151.53 crore
IMF New Arrangements to Borrow	India commitment SDR 8.88 bn; equivalent ₹1,14,364 crore / US$12.06 bn; no investments outstanding at Mar 31, 2026.
IIFCL (UK) bonds	RBI agreed up to US$5 bn; invested US$0.40 bn / ₹3,793.25 crore at Mar 31, 2026.
SDR transferred from GoI	SDR 1.18 bn, ₹15,236.92 crore / US$1.61 bn held by RBI at Mar 31, 2026.
SAARC/ACU currency swaps	US$2 bn offer under SAARC Swap Arrangement; amount lent under SAARC and ACU arrangements US$1.25 bn / ₹11,837.16 crore.
Foreign securities as collateral/margin	₹1,85,563.08 crore / US$19.57 bn under repo/IRF; ₹1,83,158.73 crore / US$19.31 bn received under reverse repo.
Foreign securities lent	₹1,13,685.01 crore / US$11.99 bn under Security Lending arrangement.

EXAM ALERT: FCA table distinguishes Investments-Foreign-BD from Investments-Foreign-ID; total = ₹52,68,234.26 crore.

13. Subsidiaries / Associates and Issue Department Assets

Subsidiary/associate	Holding at Mar 31, 2026 (₹ cr)	Per cent holding
DICGC	50.00	100%
BRBNMPL	1,800.00	100%
ReBIT	50.00	100%
NCFE	30.00	30%
IFTAS	33.60	100%
RBIH	100.00	100%
Total	2,063.60	100% each

• Swap Amortisation Account (SAA) balance was nil at March 31, 2026 because no outstanding swaps were under off-market repo at that date.

• RFCA had a nil balance at March 31, 2026, against ₹6,985.19 crore on March 31, 2025.

• Issue Department assets include gold, rupee coin, foreign securities and other eligible assets backing notes. Gold held as Issue Department asset was ₹3,88,147.13 crore at March 31, 2026.

14. Foreign Exchange Reserves

Foreign Exchange Reserves comprise Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), gold including gold deposit, SDR holdings and Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) in IMF. SDR holdings and RTP are included according to the relevant balance-sheet classification.

Component	Mar 31, 2025	Mar 31, 2026	Change
FCA (₹ crore)	48,50,839.99	52,37,366.94	+7.9%
Gold incl. gold deposit (₹ crore)	6,68,162.34	10,94,309.49	+63.8%
SDR (₹ crore)	1,55,208.18	1,76,589.25	+13.7%
RTP in IMF (₹ crore)	37,855.07	45,595.61	+20.4%
FER total (₹ crore)	57,12,140.58	65,53,861.29	+14.7%
FCA (US$ bn)	567.56	552.28	-2.7%
Gold (US$ bn)	78.18	115.40	+47.6%
SDR (US$ bn)	18.17	18.62	+2.5%
RTP (US$ bn)	4.42	4.81	+8.8%
FER total (US$ bn)	668.33	691.11	+3.4%

Note: Table XII.7 uses rupee values and USD values separately. The rupee value of reserves increased sharply, while the USD value of FCA itself declined 2.7%; total FER in USD increased 3.4%.

EXAM ALERT: FER on March 31, 2026 = ₹65,53,861.29 crore = US$691.11 billion.

15. Analysis of Income

• Income from foreign sources increased 26.6% from ₹2,58,837.55 crore to ₹3,27,655.54 crore. Earnings on foreign-currency assets rose from 5.3% of average FCA to 6.4%.

• Average FCA increased from ₹48,73,053.30 crore to ₹50,99,520.01 crore.

• Net domestic income increased 25.9% from ₹79,470.54 crore to ₹1,00,028.61 crore, mainly due to higher interest on rupee securities.

• Interest on rupee securities including Oil Bonds rose 37.7% from ₹85,524.67 crore to ₹1,17,739.57 crore.

• Profit on sale/redemption of rupee securities fell 19.8% to ₹886.45 crore. Amortisation of premium/discount on rupee securities resulted in net income of -₹5,024.58 crore.

• Net interest from LAF/MSF/SDF operations became more negative, from -₹10,120.25 crore to -₹19,162.97 crore. Net interest on LAF: -₹8,681.73 crore; SDF: -₹10,599.55 crore; MSF: ₹118.31 crore.

• Interest on other loans/advances totalled ₹1,787.94 crore, down 7.0%. Government ₹1,153.80 crore; Banks & Financial Institutions ₹516.47 crore; Employees ₹117.67 crore.

• Commission income increased 9.5% to ₹4,523.37 crore. Rent realised, profit/loss on sale of Bank's property, provisions no longer required and miscellaneous income together declined.

16. Analysis of Expenditure

Expenditure item	2025-26 (₹ cr)	Key point
Interest	2.71	Up from ₹2.44 cr
Employee Cost	10,136.31	+10.8%
Agency Charges/Commission	4,880.05	+30.4% approx.
Printing of Notes	4,875.20	Lower than ₹6,372.82 cr
Provisions	1,09,379.64	Mainly transfer to CF
Others	11,817.78	+108.8%
Total	1,41,091.69	+102.4%

Interest expenditure rose to ₹2.71 crore, mainly reflecting higher interest paid to specified RBI funds.

• Employee cost increased 10.8% from ₹9,146.71 crore to ₹10,136.31 crore, mainly due to higher contributions to Staff Superannuation Funds and pension revision.

• Agency commission on Government transactions increased 30.4% from ₹3,531.76 crore to ₹4,605.81 crore, due to higher Government receipts/payments and revised agency commission rates effective April 1, 2025.

• Underwriting commission paid to Primary Dealers increased from ₹15.78 crore to ₹86.34 crore, amid market conditions and geopolitical risks.

• Sundries include handling charges, turnover commission and commission on securities borrowing/lending; commission under Securities Borrowing and Lending Arrangement increased to ₹11.18 crore.

• Fees to external asset managers, custodians and brokers increased from ₹115.55 crore to ₹176.72 crore.

• Printing of notes cost ₹4,875.20 crore versus ₹6,372.82 crore in 2024-25.

• The Economic Capital Framework requires CRB in the 4.5%-7.5% range; Central Board approved 6.5% for 2025-26. Accordingly, ₹1,09,379.64 crore was provided toward CF.

• Other expenditure rose 108.8% from ₹5,760.79 crore to ₹11,817.78 crore, including expenditure on remittance of currency, printing/stationery and audit fees.

17. Contingent Liabilities, Prior Period Transactions and MSMEs

• Total contingent liabilities were ₹1,159.19 crore at March 31, 2026, mainly the Reserve Bank's liability in respect of Bank for International Settlements (BIS)-denominated SDR held by BIS. Balances are payable on demand by decision of the Board of Directors.

• Prior-period transactions disclosed are those involving ₹1 lakh or above. During the year, prior-period expenditure was ₹460.44 crore and income ₹0.19 crore.

• The chapter also provides the required disclosure on delayed-payment cases relating to principal/interest payable to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises under the MSMED Act, 2006.

• Previous-year figures are rearranged/recast wherever necessary to make them comparable with the current year.

18. Key Source Tables and What They Test

Table	What to remember
XII.1	5-year trend in income, expenditure, net income and surplus transferred to Central Government; 2025-26 income ₹4,27,684.15 cr, expenditure ₹1,41,091.69 cr, surplus ₹2,86,588.46 cr.
XII.2	Capital ₹5 cr; Reserve Fund ₹6,500 cr; CF ₹5,68,333.19 cr; ADF ₹22,974.68 cr; ARE ₹5,97,862.04 cr; ARE = 6.5% of balance sheet.
XII.3	Year-end revaluation balances: CGRA ₹21,68,530.23 cr; PFCVA ₹43,403.23 cr; other listed accounts nil.
XII.4	Physical gold 880.52 tonnes at Mar 31, 2026.
XII.5	FCA total ₹52,68,234.26 cr and major international commitments.
XII.6	Six subsidiaries/associates, total investment ₹2,063.60 cr; 100% holding in each.
XII.7(a)/(b)	FER ₹65,53,861.29 cr / US$691.11 bn.
XII.8	Foreign-source earnings ₹3,27,655.54 cr; earnings on average FCA 6.4%.
XII.9	Domestic-source earnings ₹1,00,028.61 cr.
XII.10	Total expenditure ₹1,41,091.69 cr; provisions ₹1,09,379.64 cr.

PART 2: IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Topic	Exact figure	Meaning
Balance-sheet size	₹91,97,121.08 cr	Mar 31, 2026; +20.6%
Income	₹4,27,684.15 cr	2025-26; +26.4%
Expenditure	₹1,41,091.69 cr	2025-26; +102.4%
Surplus	₹2,86,588.46 cr	Payable to Central Government; +6.7%
Notes Issued	₹41,24,766.88 cr	+11.8%
Deposits	₹19,16,692.11 cr	Total
Revaluation Accounts	₹21,68,530.23 cr	Year-end total
Contingency Fund	₹5,68,333.19 cr	Mar 31, 2026
ADF	₹22,974.68 cr	Unchanged
ARE	₹5,97,862.04 cr	6.5% of balance sheet
CRB	6.5%	Approved within 4.5%-7.5% range
Gold	880.52 tonnes	Total physical holding
FCA	₹52,68,234.26 cr	Mar 31, 2026
FER	US$691.11 bn	Mar 31, 2026
FER	₹65,53,861.29 cr	Mar 31, 2026
Foreign-source income	₹3,27,655.54 cr	+26.6%
Domestic-source income	₹1,00,028.61 cr	+25.9%
Rupee securities interest	₹1,17,739.57 cr	+37.7%
LAF/MSF/SDF net interest	-₹19,162.97 cr	2025-26
Employee cost	₹10,136.31 cr	+10.8%
Provision	₹1,09,379.64 cr	Transferred to CF
Contingent liabilities	₹1,159.19 cr	Mar 31, 2026
CBDC-R banknote value	₹771.66 cr	Mar 31, 2026
CBDC-W banknote value	Nil	Mar 31, 2026
Subsidiaries/associates	₹2,063.60 cr	6 entities, 100% holdings

PART 3: IMPORTANT DATES

Date / period	Event
1935	RBI constituted as private shareholders' bank; initial paid-up capital ₹5 crore.
January 1, 1949	RBI nationalised.
July 1964	National Industrial Credit (LTO) Fund created under Section 46C, RBI Act.
January 1989	National Housing Credit (LTO) Fund set up under Section 46D, RBI Act.
1997-98	Asset Development Fund created.
June 30, 2018	₹719.37 crore SBN value transferred to Other Liabilities.
March 31, 2025	Comparison date for 2025-26 balance-sheet and reserve figures.
April 1, 2025	Revised agency commission rates effective.
March 31, 2026	Accounts/balance-sheet year-end; FER US$691.11 bn; gold 880.52 tonnes.
May 22, 2026	Independent auditors' report dated.

PART 4: IMPORTANT RBI / GOI / OTHER INITIATIVES

Framework / initiative	Organisation	One-line purpose / key fact
Economic Capital Framework (ECF)	RBI	Framework for maintaining capital, Reserve Fund and risk provisions; CRB approved at 6.5% for 2025-26 within 4.5%-7.5%.
Contingency Fund	RBI	Provision for unforeseen contingencies, including depreciation in securities and systemic/monetary/exchange risks.
Asset Development Fund	RBI	Created in 1997-98 for investments in subsidiaries/associates and internal capital expenditure.
New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB)	IMF/RBI	India commitment SDR 8.88 bn; no investments outstanding under NAB at Mar 31, 2026.
SAARC Swap Arrangement	RBI/SAARC	RBI offered US$2 bn in foreign currency and INR; US$1.25 bn lent under SAARC and ACU arrangements at year-end.
WMA/OD/SDF	RBI	Short-term financial accommodation to Central/State Governments and States/UTs as specified under RBI Act.
CBDC-R / CBDC-W	RBI	Digital-form banknote values reported in Issue Department liabilities; e₹-R ₹771.66 cr, e₹-W nil at Mar 31, 2026.
Security Lending	RBI	Foreign securities lent under arrangement had nominal value ₹1,13,685.01 cr / US$11.99 bn.

PART 5: KEY DEFINITIONS / CONCEPTS

Term	Meaning / exam point
CGRA	Currency and Gold Revaluation Account; records unrealised valuation effects from currency/gold.
IRA-FS	Investment Revaluation Account-Foreign Securities; records unrealised MTM gains/losses on foreign securities.
IRA-RS	Investment Revaluation Account-Rupee Securities; records unrealised MTM gains/losses on domestic rupee securities.
FCVA	Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts Valuation Account; net MTM gains on forward contracts.
PFCVA	Provision for Forward Contracts Valuation Account; provision for net MTM losses on forward contracts.
CF	Contingency Fund; risk provision under Section 47, RBI Act, 1934.
ADF	Asset Development Fund; supports subsidiaries/associates investment and internal capital expenditure.
ARE	Available Realised Equity; measure comprising specified capital/reserve/risk-provision components under ECF.
CRB	Contingent Risk Buffer; maintained within ECF range of 4.5%-7.5%; approved 6.5% for 2025-26.
FCA	Foreign Currency Assets, a major component of FER.
FER	Foreign Exchange Reserves = FCA + gold incl. gold deposit + SDR holdings + RTP in IMF.
RTP	Reserve Tranche Position in IMF.
WMA	Ways and Means Advances, short-term financial accommodation.
OD	Overdraft facility to Central Government / specified States/UTs.
LAF	Liquidity Adjustment Facility; repo/reverse repo operations.
MSF	Marginal Standing Facility.
SDF	Standing Deposit Facility.
SAA	Swap Amortisation Account for amortisation of off-market swap differences.
RFCA	Revaluation of Forward Contracts Account.
ETCD	Exchange Traded Currency Derivatives.
Projected Unit Credit Method	Actuarial method used for long-term employee-benefit liability.

PART 6: CONFUSION POINTS

Confusion	Correct distinction
Available balance vs surplus	₹2,86,592.46 cr available balance; ₹4 cr transferred to funds; ₹2,86,588.46 cr surplus payable to Central Government.
Income vs foreign-source income	Total income ₹4,27,684.15 cr; foreign-source income ₹3,27,655.54 cr; domestic-source income ₹1,00,028.61 cr are analytical categories, not simply interchangeable.
FER vs FCA	FER includes FCA, gold, SDR and RTP. FCA alone was ₹52,68,234.26 cr.
Rupee FER vs USD FER	Rupee FER ₹65,53,861.29 cr; USD FER US$691.11 bn.
Gold value vs physical gold	Gold value ₹10,94,309.49 cr; physical holding 880.52 metric tonnes.
CGRA vs CF	CGRA records specified unrealised valuation effects; CF is a risk provision used for contingencies and specified valuation shortfalls.
IRA-FS vs IRA-RS	IRA-FS = foreign securities; IRA-RS = rupee securities.
FCVA vs PFCVA	FCVA = net MTM gains on forward contracts; PFCVA = provision for net MTM losses.
Banking Dept vs Issue Dept foreign investments	Investments-Foreign-BD belong to Banking Department; Investments-Foreign-ID are Issue Department assets eligible under Section 33(6).
LAF Repo vs Reverse Repo/SDF	LAF Repo/MSF treated as lending and shown under Loans & Advances; Reverse Repo/SDF treated as deposits and shown under Deposits-Others.
More than 99 years vs up to 99 years lease	>99-year leasehold land treated as perpetual/freehold and not amortised; ≤99 years amortised over lease.
30-year building life vs lease period	Buildings generally 30-year life; on leasehold land, lesser of 30 years or lease period.
T-Bills vs other foreign securities	T-Bills/CP at cost with daily amortisation; specified other foreign securities MTM daily.
Domestic securities MTM frequency	Specified rupee securities/oil bonds MTM on last business day of each week ending Friday and month-end.
PFCVA year-end vs following year	₹43,403.23 cr at Mar 31, 2026; reversed on first working day of following accounting year.
CBDC-R vs CBDC-W	e₹-R ₹771.66 cr; e₹-W nil at Mar 31, 2026.

PART 7: LAST-MINUTE EXAM FACTS

• RBI balance-sheet size at March 31, 2026 was ₹91,97,121.08 crore, up 20.6%.

• 2025-26 income was ₹4,27,684.15 crore, up 26.4%; expenditure ₹1,41,091.69 crore, up 102.4%.

• Surplus payable to Central Government was ₹2,86,588.46 crore, up 6.7%.

• ₹1,09,379.64 crore was transferred to the Contingency Fund; no provision was made for ADF.

• Central Board-approved CRB was 6.5% within the ECF range of 4.5%-7.5%.

• Contingency Fund balance was ₹5,68,333.19 crore; ADF balance ₹22,974.68 crore.

• ARE was ₹5,97,862.04 crore, equivalent to 6.5% of balance-sheet size.

• Revaluation Accounts totalled ₹21,68,530.23 crore, entirely CGRA at year-end; PFCVA was ₹43,403.23 crore.

• Notes Issued increased 11.8% to ₹41,24,766.88 crore.

• Physical gold holding rose to 880.52 metric tonnes, comprising 312.32 tonnes backing notes and 568.20 tonnes in Banking Department.

• FCA totalled ₹52,68,234.26 crore at March 31, 2026.

• FER stood at ₹65,53,861.29 crore or US$691.11 billion.

• FER in USD increased 3.4%, while FCA in USD declined 2.7%.

• Foreign-source income increased 26.6% to ₹3,27,655.54 crore; earnings on average FCA rose to 6.4%.

• Domestic-source income increased 25.9% to ₹1,00,028.61 crore.

• Interest on rupee securities including Oil Bonds rose 37.7% to ₹1,17,739.57 crore.

• Net interest from LAF/MSF/SDF became more negative, reaching -₹19,162.97 crore.

• Employee cost increased 10.8% to ₹10,136.31 crore.

• Printing of notes expenditure was ₹4,875.20 crore, lower than ₹6,372.82 crore in 2024-25.

• Six RBI subsidiaries/associates were shown with 100% holding in each; total investment ₹2,063.60 crore.

• Gold is revalued daily at 90% of the daily LBMA gold price.

• Forward contracts are marked-to-market half-yearly; net gains go to FCVA and net losses to PFCVA.

• RBI's statutory auditors are appointed by the Central Government under Section 50 of the RBI Act, 1934.

• Total contingent liabilities were ₹1,159.19 crore at March 31, 2026.

• Prior-period expenditure and income disclosed were ₹460.44 crore and ₹0.19 crore respectively.

• CBDC-R/e₹-R banknote value was ₹771.66 crore; CBDC-W/e₹-W was nil at March 31, 2026.

Faculty Desk

Saturday, 26 September 2026

MCQs on FSR JUNE 2026

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Friday, 25 September 2026

MCQ on RBI INTEGRATED OMBUDSMAN SCHEME, 2026 (Better viewed in a browser in Laptop / PC)

MOCK TEST ON RBI INTEGRATED OMBUDSMAN SCHEME 2026

Prepared by Aravind M

Exam Submitted Successfully!

Thursday, 24 September 2026

CHAPTER XII THE RESERVE BANK'S ACCOUNTS FOR 2025-26 - Revision