Reserve Bank of India amends CRR and SLR directions to adopt calendar-month fortnights and move to single electronic Form A return

The Reserve Bank of India issued amendment directions for commercial banks on Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) maintenance and reporting, aligning the framework with the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025. The changes replace the prior Saturday-to-Friday “fortnight” with two calendar-month fortnights (1st–15th and 16th–month-end) and update associated CRR and SLR return requirements. Banks will submit a single Form A return, with no provisional, final or special versions, and file Form A fortnightly from 15 December 2025 and Form VIII monthly from December 2025 through the Centralised Information Management System portal using digital signatures of two authorised officials, with no hard-copy submissions. Transitional rules set NDTL reference dates for CRR and SLR maintenance for 16–31 December 2025 and 1–15 January 2026, require maintenance during 13–15 December 2025 based on NDTL as at 28 November 2025 with minimum CRR at 100% of the requirement, and call for a Form A return for 12 December 2025 under the existing structure plus the December 2025 Form VIII return using both old and new return codes. Most provisions take effect from 15 December 2025, with the specified transition provision effective from 12 December 2025.