Vishleshan for Regulatory Exams: Check Daily News Analysis 12th June 2025 

Newspapers help shape our understanding of social, political, and economic issues. They are powerful sources of knowledge, which is why they are essential tools for candidates preparing for top competitive exams like RBI Grade B, SEBI Grade A, and NABARD Grade A. However, finding reliable and concise news analysis can be tough. That’s where Vishleshan for regulatory exams steps in. It offers an in-depth analysis of important articles from leading financial newspapers such as Mint, making your exam preparation smarter and faster. Let’s dive into the news highlights and insights for June 12, 2025, where we’ll analyze how RBI’s CRR adjustments influence bank lending, economic growth, and interest rate alignment with repo rate.

Also, check the News Analysis of 11th June 2025 

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) May Aid Policy Transmission 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reportedly considering a significant shift in its monetary policy toolkit, intending to use the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) more frequently as a tool for liquidity management and to enhance policy transmission. This marks a departure from its traditional use of CRR primarily during extreme cash fluctuations. This proactive approach aims to align market rates with the repo rate and improve the effectiveness of monetary policy.

Policy Transmission and the Lag

Policy Transmission refers to the process through which changes in the central bank’s monetary policy instruments (like the repo rate) translate into changes in lending and deposit rates by commercial banks, ultimately influencing economic activity.

The Lag: There is often a lag between the RBI cutting the repo rate and banks passing on this advantage of lower-cost funds to their customers in the form of reduced loan interest rates. This lag can dilute the effectiveness of monetary policy.

Why Banks Delay Transmission (in case of rate cuts):

• Cost of Funds: Banks also rely on deposits, and cutting lending rates too quickly without a corresponding reduction in deposit rates can squeeze their Net Interest Margin (NIM), impacting profitability.
• Asset-Liability Mismatch: Banks may have a large portfolio of existing loans at higher rates. Adjusting new loan rates quickly might create an asset-liability mismatch if their cost of funds (from deposits) doesn’t fall commensurately.
• Competition and Market Dynamics: In a less competitive environment, banks might have less incentive to immediately pass on rate cuts.
• Credit Demand: If credit demand is weak, banks might not feel the pressure to cut rates even if the RBI does.
• Funding Costs: Banks often raise funds from sources other than just the repo window, and if those costs don’t fall, they’ll be hesitant to cut lending rates.

What is CRR and How does it Manages Liquidity

The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is a portion of banks’ total deposits that they are required to keep as reserves with the central bank (RBI). Banks do not earn any interest on these reserves.

How it Manages Liquidity:

• Increasing CRR: When the RBI increases the CRR, banks have to hold a larger portion of their deposits with the RBI. This reduces the lendable funds available to banks, thereby sucking out liquidity from the banking system. This can be done to control inflation or curb excessive credit.
• Decreasing CRR: Conversely, when the RBI decreases the CRR, banks have more funds available for lending. This injects liquidity into the banking system, encouraging credit growth and stimulating economic activity. This is often done to counter a liquidity crunch or boost growth.

RBI announced a surprise 100-basis-points reduction in CRR, in four equal tranches, taking it down to 3%. This move is expected to release ₹2.5 trillion ($29.25 billion) into the banking system. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had stated that the regulator was “comfortable” with a 3% CRR.

Global Average CRR vs. India’s CRR and the Deviation

• Global Average CRR: Globally, many developed economies (like the US, UK, Eurozone, Japan) have moved towards very low or even zero CRR requirements in recent decades. Their central banks typically rely more on open market operations (OMOs), interest on reserves, and policy rates to manage liquidity. The concept is to avoid impounding bank funds unnecessarily and allow the market to drive liquidity.
• India’s CRR at the Moment and Deviation: India’s CRR, even at the recently reduced 3%, is still higher than what is seen in many developed markets. Historically, India has maintained a relatively higher CRR, sometimes above 4%, to manage liquidity in its large and diverse financial system. The current deviation reflects:
  • RBI’s conservative approach: India’s central bank has historically used CRR as a significant prudential tool to ensure banking system stability and control inflation in an economy with vast cash transactions and a large informal sector.
  • Differing Liquidity Dynamics: Emerging markets like India often experience larger and more volatile capital flows, making CRR a useful instrument for immediate liquidity absorption or injection.
  • Systemic Risk Management: A higher CRR acts as a buffer against systemic risks.

The article highlights that the “need to maintain the CRR at a minimum of 4% to manage crisis situations is no longer seen as necessary” given the recent growth in banks’ total deposit base. This suggests a shift in RBI’s comfort level and confidence in the banking system’s stability, allowing for a lower baseline CRR.

Impact of Extensive CRR Usage on Banks

If the reports of more frequent CRR usage are true, it would have several impacts on banks:

• Increased Lendable Funds: A lower CRR directly translates to more funds available for banks to lend, potentially boosting credit growth. The recent 100 bps reduction will release ₹2.5 trillion into the banking system.
• Reduced Cost of Funds (Potentially): While CRR does not earn interest, reducing the impounded portion effectively lowers the non-interest-earning liabilities for banks, which can marginally improve their profitability or allow them to reduce lending rates.
• Enhanced Liquidity Management: For banks, a clearer and more frequent use of CRR by the RBI would make liquidity management more predictable. They would better anticipate liquidity swings and plan their lending activities accordingly.
• Reduced Reliance on OMOs: The RBI’s shift towards managing liquidity via CRR would “reduce the need for bond buys that often distort market yields.” This implies banks might see less direct intervention in the bond market from the RBI.
• Impact on Profitability: The increased lendable funds, combined with potentially better policy transmission, could lead to higher loan volumes and thus improved profitability, assuming credit demand is strong.

How CRR Aids in Quick Policy Transmission

The proposed shift towards using CRR more frequently is aimed at aiding quick policy transmission:

• Direct Impact on Lendable Funds: Unlike repo rate changes, which influence the cost of funds at the margin, CRR directly impacts the quantity of funds available for lending. A CRR cut immediately injects liquidity, pushing banks to lend more.
• Influencing Market Rates: The article notes that a “large cash surplus in the banking system had also pushed the weighted average overnight call rate — the operative policy rate — well below the RBI’s key repo rate, currently at 5.5%.” The RBI “wants the overnight call rate to be around the repo rate, steps will be taken to ensure that happens.” By adjusting CRR, the RBI can directly manage the overall liquidity in the system, thereby influencing short-term market rates like the overnight call rate to align more closely with the repo rate. When the call rate is closer to the repo rate, it ensures that the central bank’s signal is effectively translated across the banking system.
• Efficiency over OMOs: The article states that using CRR is “more efficient than conducting multiple open market operations” for absorbing large liquidity influxes. OMOs (like bond buys or sales) can “distort market yields” and introduce volatility. CRR, being a direct reserve requirement, offers a cleaner way to manage systemic liquidity.
• Proactive Liquidity Management: Instead of reacting to extreme liquidity swings, the RBI intends to use CRR more often to proactively manage liquidity. This consistency in liquidity management can create a more predictable environment for banks, encouraging faster adjustment of their rates in line with RBI’s policy signals. The RBI could start conducting “variable rate reverse repo auctions to suck out surplus liquidity as and when required”.

In short, by adopting a more dynamic approach to CRR management, the RBI aims to create a liquidity environment that is more conducive to effective monetary policy transmission, ensuring that changes in the repo rate are promptly reflected in the broader economy.

Falling Fertility Calls for Fast Gender Justice Gains 

The State of World Population Report 2025, published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), highlights a critical demographic shift: India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1 to 1.9. While this signifies progress in some ways, it opens up a host of complex socio-economic and gender issues. The report shifts the discourse from fears of population explosion to the “real fertility crisis”—which is the lack of reproductive autonomy and gender equity, across both developing and developed nations.

What is Fertility Rate?

Fertility Rate, specifically the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), is a key demographic indicator that represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime if she were to pass through her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year.

• Replacement Level Fertility: The replacement level fertility is the TFR at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration. This level is generally considered to be 2.1 children per woman. It’s slightly above 2.0 to account for some mortality among children and women before or during their reproductive years.

Why Fertility Rate is Important for a Country?

• Population Growth and Decline: The TFR directly determines whether a country’s population will grow, shrink, or remain stable. A TFR consistently below replacement level leads to a declining and aging population over time, while a TFR significantly above it leads to rapid population growth.
• Economic Impact:
  • Labor Force: A declining TFR leads to a shrinking young population and, eventually, a smaller working-age population. This can create labour shortages, reduce productivity, and strain social security systems (pensions, healthcare) as fewer workers support a larger elderly population.
  • Economic Growth: Population growth contributes to economic growth through increased consumption, a larger workforce, and innovation. A sharp decline can dampen these drivers.
  • Dependency Ratio: A falling birth rate combined with increasing longevity leads to a higher old-age dependency ratio, where a smaller working population has to support a larger dependent elderly population.
• Social and Cultural Impact: Changes in fertility rates impact family structures, social support systems, cultural norms, and community vibrancy. Extreme demographic shifts can lead to societal restructuring challenges.
• Resource Allocation: Both overpopulation and underpopulation can strain resources, albeit in different ways. Overpopulation can strain natural resources and public services, while underpopulation can lead to underutilized infrastructure and a loss of dynamism.

Decoding the Whole Issue: Analysis of the Article

The article, based on the UNFPA’s 2025 report, provides a nuanced perspective on fertility trends, challenging conventional anxieties and emphasizing the role of social factors.

1. India’s Declining TFR and the Shift in Narrative:

• Key Fact: India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has now dipped to 1.9 children per woman, falling below the replacement level of 2.1. This is a significant decrease from the 2.0 TFR recorded by India’s National Family Health Survey of 2019-2021.
• Challenging Traditional Anxieties: The article contrasts historical fears of a “population explosion” (prevalent in the mid-20th century, leading to funding for family planning in Asia and Africa due to concerns about economic gains being outrun by population growth) with current anxieties in the rich world about a “population implosion” (not enough children being born, partly due to concerns about needing immigration to sustain economies).
• The “Real Fertility Crisis”: The UN report makes a crucial assertion: the “real fertility crisis” is neither an explosion nor an implosion, but “unrealized reproductive rights in relatively poor and well-off societies alike”. This shifts the focus from mere numbers to the agency and rights of individuals.

2. The Emphasis on Social Factors and Reproductive Agency:

• Reproductive Agency: The UNFPA report emphasizes “reproductive agency as understood in a societal context”. This concept refers to an individual’s ability to make free and informed decisions about their reproductive life, including whether, when, and how many children to have, free from coercion, discrimination, and violence.
• Beyond Access to Contraception/Abortion: The article highlights that merely providing access to contraception or abortion rights is often insufficient. Instead, “social mores that sustain gender oppression” are critical factors.
• Call for Gender Justice: The report’s call for the “full realization of reproductive rights should draw our attention to gender justice”, which is identified as a “vital aspect of diversity, equity and inclusion”.

3. South Korea as an Illustrative Example:

• Low TFR in a Rich Country: South Korea, despite being a wealthy nation, has an extremely low TFR of 0.8. This demonstrates that “Getting rich need not enhance reproductive autonomy”.
• Resistance to Gender Injustice: The article explains that many Korean women “eschew motherhood and marriage in protest against gender-unjust attitudes that impose all household chores and care burdens on women, who often lack financial security and childcare support”. This points to societal pressures and unequal burden-sharing as key drivers of low fertility, even when economic development is high.

4. India’s Current Situation and Potential Future:

• Regional Variation: In India, “attitudes vary widely with income status, social-group norms and the level of women’s empowerment in varied settings”. This highlights the diversity within India’s demographic landscape.
• Unsustainable “Outsourcing” Model: The article notes that many Indian women with successful professional careers manage by “outsourcing domestic chores and care burdens” to paid domestic help. However, this model is “not sustainable”.
• Risk of a “South Korean Fertility Future”: As incomes rise “at the bottom of the pyramid,” outsourcing domestic chores could become “prohibitively expensive”. This “true economic success” could inadvertently lead India towards a “South Korean fertility future in a few decades”, where women opt out of motherhood due to unaddressed domestic burdens.

Call for Societal Change: To avert this outcome, the article urges India to “push for societal changes now” and emphasizes that “Gender equality needs to begin at home”. It also suggests that leaving “hoary old traditions behind” is necessary.

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