The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the country's central bank, set up in 1935. You will not open a savings account there. Instead, it looks after the banking system itself.
Setting interest rates
A six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets about six times a year. It decides the repo rate, the rate at which the RBI lends short-term money to banks. The government has asked the RBI to keep CPI inflation near 4%, with room of 2 percentage points on either side. After each meeting the RBI announces its decision, and the news is covered widely because loan rates, deposit rates and bond prices can all be affected.
Regulating banks and lenders
The RBI gives banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) their licences, sets rules on how much money they must keep in reserve, and inspects them. When a lender gets into trouble, the RBI can restrict it to protect depositors. Bank deposits are also insured by a separate body, DICGC, up to a limit per depositor per bank.
Currency and payments
The RBI issues currency notes and works with the government to manage the supply of money. It also oversees the systems we use daily to pay, including UPI (run by NPCI under its supervision), NEFT and RTGS.
Managing the rupee and reserves
The RBI holds foreign currency and gold reserves. If the rupee moves too sharply against the dollar, it can buy or sell dollars to calm things. It does not fix the rupee's value; markets mostly do that.
The government's banker
The RBI runs the government's accounts and helps it borrow by managing the sale of government bonds.
Where to read its words
The RBI publishes its policy statements and press releases on rbi.org.in. We show its latest press releases on our Sources page. Read the original, not just a headline about it.