RBI repo, SDF and fixed reverse repo: how to read the rates

RBI can list the repo rate, Standing Deposit Facility rate, Marginal Standing Facility rate, Bank Rate and fixed reverse repo rate together. They are separately named rates, not five interchangeable descriptions of one decision. A number's presence in the table does not tell you when it changed or how often the associated facility is used.

To compare them, match each exact label to a dated official document before subtracting the numbers. Keep the date of the policy decision separate from the date its minutes were published and the date you checked the table. The worked example below uses an RBI homepage snapshot observed on 31 October 2026, alongside the October MPC minutes. It is a dated comparison, not a live rate feed. 1 2

Why repo, SDF and fixed reverse repo appear together

A policy framework can retain an instrument without giving it the same role as another facility. RBI's 8 April 2022 Governor's Statement, paragraph 16, introduced SDF as the floor of its liquidity-adjustment corridor, described MSF at the upper end and retained fixed reverse repo in its toolkit for purposes at RBI's discretion. 3

That historical explanation helps you interpret the names. It does not establish every operational detail or frequency of use today.

The four instruments most relevant to the repo/SDF/FRRR comparison are repo, SDF, MSF and FRRR. The homepage table has five entries because Bank Rate is also listed. By contrast, the October paragraph examined below names repo, SDF, MSF and Bank Rate. Those are different sets of four.

Use a seven-field rate worksheet

Create one record for each instrument. Copy the official label before shortening it, and keep the number separate from its unit.

Also add an effective-date/time note whenever your comparison depends on when a change applies. If the passage you are using does not establish that timing, write “not established by this passage.” Do not substitute the meeting's last day, the minutes publication date or a timestamp from another part of the homepage.

The point is to make a precise statement such as “this paragraph specifies this rate” instead of treating every number on the website as part of the same announcement.

Worked example: reconcile the October 2026 entries

The RBI homepage snapshot observed on 31 October 2026 lists the five rates below. Paragraph 6 of the October MPC minutes supports four of those entries. The minutes were published on 21 October 2026 and identify the meeting as 5–7 October 2026. 1 2

Complete the timing fields as follows:

• For the first four entries: record the 5–7 October meeting window, the minutes publication date of 21 October and the check date of 31 October 2026. The passage used here does not separately establish an exact decision day or effective date/time.
• For the FRRR listing: record the homepage observation on 31 October. This example does not establish the homepage policy table's publication date or an FRRR decision/effective date. The April 2022 statement is separate historical evidence for its retained-tool role.

“Not stated in paragraph 6” is a limit on that particular passage. It does not mean FRRR was abolished, unused, unchanged or absent from every other RBI document. Nor does an unresolved date field mean no effective date exists; it means you still need the applicable evidence if your next step depends on it.

Calculate the dated differences

Once the labels and source context match, subtract the rates:

• Repo minus SDF: 5.50% − 5.25% = 0.25 percentage point, or 25 basis points.
• MSF minus repo: 5.75% − 5.50% = 0.25 percentage point, or 25 basis points.

One percentage point equals 100 basis points. A 0.25-percentage-point difference is not “0.25% of the repo rate.” See basis points versus percentage points for that distinction.

These calculations describe the dated numbers above. Their correspondence with the spacing described in the 2022 framework does not make 25 basis points a permanent promise. It also does not guarantee that every market rate, loan rate or deposit rate stays within those levels.

Two mistakes the worksheet helps you catch

A lower listed FRRR is not enough to identify the floor

In this snapshot, FRRR's 3.35% is lower than SDF's 5.25%. Sorting the numbers and calling the smallest one the floor would skip the evidence about each instrument's role.

RBI's 2022 statement specifically assigned the floor role to SDF while retaining FRRR separately. Use that dated structural explanation rather than deriving a facility's role from the ranking of numbers. A claim about current operations or actual use still needs the relevant current operational evidence. 3

A claimed 25-basis-point gap can conflict with the inputs

Consider a hypothetical secondary table that labels both repo and SDF as 5.25%, yet describes a 25-basis-point difference. The arithmetic is:

5.25% − 5.25% = 0 percentage points = 0 basis points.

That is a conflict to investigate, not permission to guess which cell should change. The actual official pair in the worked example above is internally consistent; this hypothetical shows how to handle a different, inconsistent input.

1. Check the exact instrument labels and units. Do not accidentally compare Bank Rate with repo while calling the result an SDF gap.
2. Match the source documents and their dates. A displayed table and a decision from another period may not describe the same situation.
3. Read the relevant official decision, including any timing or applicability clause needed for your comparison. Keep historical role explanations separate from numerical updates.
4. If the discrepancy remains, mark the comparison unresolved and stop presenting a current corridor calculation. Do not silently repair the table or turn the discrepancy into a prediction of the next policy move.

Before using a newer rate table

Repeat the worksheet with the latest relevant RBI documents rather than changing only the numbers in this example. Check which entries the decision actually names, whether the homepage observation is later, and whether either source establishes an effective date. A timestamp beside an exchange-rate block does not date the policy-rate block.

You should finish with an answer to three questions: Which instrument is this? Which document supports its value? Which date does my statement describe? If a missing answer affects the comparison, keep it visible until you resolve it.

These are institutional policy-rate comparisons, not quotes for your own loan or deposit. A matched table does not establish a customer's rate change or its timing. It also does not forecast market direction; why markets react to news explains the separate role of expectations.

Sources and evidence dates

1. Reserve Bank of India homepage, policy-rate table observed 31 October 2026. Source for the five listed levels in this worked example. No publication or effective date for that table is established here.
2. RBI October MPC minutes, meeting 5–7 October 2026, published 21 October 2026, paragraph 6. Source for the four named rate entries and the repo increase. The passage used here does not separately establish an exact decision day or effective date/time.
3. RBI Governor's Statement, 8 April 2022, paragraph 16(i)–(iii), page 6. Historical evidence for the SDF floor, MSF upper standing facility, repo-centred spacing and retained FRRR toolkit role; not a source for the October 2026 rate levels or current facility-use frequency.