**Executive Summary**
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct a USD/INR Buy/Sell swap auction on January 13, 2026, to inject liquidity. The auction aims to swap USD 10 billion for a tenor of three years. Market participants must submit bids in paisa terms for the premium they are willing to pay. The near leg date is January 15, 2026, and the far leg date is January 16, 2029.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Auction Details:**
* Auction Date: January 13, 2026 (10:30 AM to 11:30 AM)
* Swap Amount: USD 10 Billion
* Near Leg (Spot) Date: January 15, 2026
* Far Leg Date: January 16, 2029
* **Bidding Process:**
* Bids must be in paisa terms up to two decimal places, reflecting the premium participants are willing to pay.
* Auction cut-off will be based on the premium; successful bids are accepted at their quoted premium (multiple-price based auction).
* Bids will be arranged in descending order of swap premium.
* There is provision for pro-rata allotment if multiple bids are at the cut-off premium.
* **Eligibility and Operations:**
* Eligible participants are Authorized Dealer Category-I (AD Category-I) banks.
* Minimum bid size is USD 10 million, in multiples of USD 1 million.
* Banks sell US dollars to the RBI in the first leg at FBIL Reference Rate, and settlement takes place on a spot basis.
* The first leg of the swap will take place on spot basis from the date of transaction.
* ISDA requirements are waived for these swaps.
* Swaps cannot be canceled or modified once undertaken.
* **Submission and Communication:**
* Settlement details to be furnished to RBI back office by the preceding day of the auction.
* Bids to be submitted via email, with signed letterhead and prescribed form, within the auction window, to Financial Markets Operations Department.
* The auction results will be announced on the same day.
* Requests for extension of the auction window will not be entertained.
* **RBI Rights:**
* RBI reserves the right to decide the amount of US dollars to be accepted.
* RBI can accept bids for less or marginally higher (due to rounding-off) than the notified USD amount.
* RBI can accept or reject bids wholly or partially without assigning any reason.
**Impact Analysis**
**Authorized Dealer Category - I (AD Category- I) banks**
*Impact:*
Eligible banks can participate in the USD/INR Buy/Sell swap auction to manage their liquidity. They need to sell US dollars to the RBI and agree to buy them back at the end of the swap period.
*Action Required:*
Furnish settlement details to RBI back office by the day preceding the auction. Submit bids via email, using the prescribed form and excel sheet.
Key Entities Referenced
Reserve Bank of India: The central bank of India, conducting the USD/INR Buy/Sell swap auction.
USD/INR Buy/Sell Swap auction: A mechanism used by the RBI to inject liquidity into the market by swapping USD for INR and vice-versa.
Annex: Document attached to the press release, providing operational guidelines, eligibility criteria, and other details about the auction.
Authorized Dealers Category - I (AD Category- I) banks: Eligible entities allowed to participate in the USD/INR Buy/Sell Swap auction.
प्रेस प्रकाशनी PRESS RELEASE
भारतीय ररज़र्व बैंक
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
वेबसाइट
:
www.rbi.org.in/hindi
संचार वर्भाग, केंद्रीय कायाालय, शहीद भगत ससिंह मागा, फोटा, म िंबई - 400 001
Website : www.rbi.org.in Department of Communication, Central Office, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort,
ई-मेल/email : helpdoc@rbi.org.in Mumbai - 400 001 फोन/Phone: 022 - 2266 0502
December 24, 2025
RBI to inject liquidity through long term USD/INR Buy/Sell Swap auction
As announced vide the Press Release 2025-2026/1759 dated December 23,
2025, the Reserve Bank will be conducting a USD/INR Buy/Sell swap auction of USD
10 billion for a tenor of three years.
The details of the auction are as under:
Swap Amount Near Leg/Spot
Auction date Auction Time Far Leg Date
(USD Billion) Date
January 13, 10.30 AM to January 15, January 16,
10
2026 11.30 AM 2026 2029
The market participants would be required to place their bids in terms of the
premium that they are willing to pay to the Reserve Bank for the tenor of the swap,
expressed in paisa terms up to two decimal places. The auction cut-off would be
based on the premium. The auction would be a multiple-price based auction, i.e.,
successful bids will get accepted at their respective quoted premium.
Operational guidelines, eligibility criteria and other details are given in the Annex.
(Brij Raj)
Press Release: 2025-2026/1768 Chief General Manager2
Annex
(i) Authorized Dealers Category – I (AD Category- I) banks will be the eligible
entities to participate in the auction.
(ii) The swap is in the nature of a simple buy/sell foreign exchange swap from the
Reserve Bank side. A bank shall sell US dollars to the Reserve Bank and
simultaneously agree to buy the same amount of US dollars at the end of the swap
period.
(iii) The auction cut-off would be based on the premium amount in paisa terms up to
two decimal points. The market participants would be required to place their bids
with the premium that they are willing to pay to the Reserve Bank for the tenor of
the swap expressed in paisa terms up to two decimal places. Successful bids will
get accepted at their respective quoted premium.
(iv) Once the auction window is closed, all the bids would be arranged in
descending order of the swap premium quoted and the cut-off premium would be
arrived at the premium corresponding to the notified US dollar amount of the
auction. Successful bidders would be those who have placed their bids at or above
the cut-off premium. All bids lower than the cut-off premium would be rejected.
(v) There will be provision of pro-rata allotment should there be more than one
successful bid at the cut-off premium.
(vi) Under the swap auction, minimum bid size would be USD 10 million and in
multiples of USD 1 million thereafter. The eligible participants are allowed to submit
multiple bids. However, the aggregate amount of bids submitted by single eligible
entity should not exceed the notified amount of auction.
(vii) In the first leg of the transaction, the bank will sell US dollars to the Reserve
Bank at FBIL Reference Rate of the auction date. The settlement of the first leg of
the swap will take place on spot basis from the date of transaction and the Reserve
Bank will credit the rupee funds to the current account of the successful bidder and
the bidder needs to deliver US dollars into the RBI’s nostro account. In the reverse
leg of the swap transaction, rupee funds will have to be returned to the Reserve
Bank along with the swap premium to get the US dollars back.
(viii) The banks desirous of participating in the proposed auction should furnish their
settlement details to RBI back office (Ph:022-22611069; E-mail) latest by preceding
day of the auction.
(ix) The banks would be exempted from the ISDA requirements for the purpose of
these swaps.
(x) Swaps under the auction, once undertaken with the Reserve Bank, cannot be
cancelled and no request for any modification or revision to the same would be
entertained.
(xi) The result of the auction will be announced on the same day.
(xii) The eligible participants should submit their bids through email only on their
letterhead (signed and scanned) in the prescribed form along with the excel sheet
provided therein within the auction window to Financial Markets Operations
Department (Ph: 022-22634893/22634925/22634924). The prescribed form can be
obtained from RBI website (https://rbi.org.in/en/web/rbi/forms). No Requests for
extension of auction window will be entertained.3
(xiii) RBI reserves the right to:
• Decide on the quantum of US dollar amount to be accepted in the swap
auction.
• Accept bids for less than the aggregate notified US dollar amount.
• Accept marginally higher than the notified US dollar amount due to rounding-
off effects.
• Accept or reject any or all the bids either wholly or partially without assigning
any reason.