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WACR vs repo rate — India’s call money rate & the RBI policy corridor

Q: What is the WACR (Weighted Average Call Rate)?

The Weighted Average Call Rate (WACR) is the average interest rate, weighted by transaction volume, at which banks borrow and lend overnight funds in the uncollateralised call money market. Since 2014 the RBI has used the WACR as the operating target of monetary policy, steering it close to the policy repo rate through liquidity operations.

Q: What is the RBI policy corridor (SDF, repo, MSF)?

The Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) corridor has three rates. The repo rate (5.25%) is the policy rate in the middle. The Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) at 5.00% is the floor, where banks park surplus funds with the RBI. The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) at 5.50% is the ceiling, where banks borrow against collateral. The corridor is symmetric at plus or minus 25 basis points around the repo rate.

Q: How does the WACR relate to the repo rate?

The RBI tries to keep the WACR aligned with the repo rate. When banking-system liquidity is in surplus, the WACR tends to drift toward the SDF floor; when liquidity is tight, it moves up toward the repo or MSF. The RBI uses repos, reverse repos, VRR/VRRR auctions and OMOs to nudge the WACR back toward the repo rate.

Quick answerThe Weighted Average Call Rate (WACR) is the RBI’s operating target for monetary policy — the volume-weighted overnight rate in the call money market. The RBI steers it close to the repo rate (5.25%), inside the LAF corridor bounded by the SDF floor (5.00%) and the MSF ceiling (5.50%). In a liquidity surplus the WACR drifts toward the floor; in a deficit it rises toward the ceiling.

The chart shows the policy corridor over the current rate cycle — MSF ceiling, repo rate and SDF floor. The WACR is steered to track the repo line. The table below carries the same figures so they are readable without JavaScript — for accessibility and AI answer engines.

Policy corridor — SDF / repo / MSF since Apr 2022

Effective	SDF floor	Repo	MSF ceiling	Note
8 Apr 2022	3.75	4.00	4.25	SDF introduced; corridor reset to +/-25 bps
4 May 2022	4.15	4.40	4.65	Off-cycle hike
8 Jun 2022	4.65	4.90	5.15	Tightening cycle
5 Aug 2022	5.15	5.40	5.65	—
30 Sep 2022	5.65	5.90	6.15	—
7 Dec 2022	6.00	6.25	6.50	—
8 Feb 2023	6.25	6.50	6.75	Peak; held ~2 years
7 Feb 2025	6.00	6.25	6.50	Easing cycle begins
9 Apr 2025	5.75	6.00	6.25	—
6 Jun 2025	5.25	5.50	5.75	Deeper 50 bps cut
5 Dec 2025	5.00	5.25	5.50	Current level

The corridor is symmetric at +/-25 bps around the repo rate (since the SDF was introduced in April 2022). The WACR is not fixed by the RBI — it is a market rate that the RBI manages toward the repo through liquidity operations. For the exact daily WACR print and money-market volumes, see the RBI Weekly Statistical Supplement linked below.

What it means for bankers

The WACR is the cleanest read on system liquidity. When it sits below the repo rate, overnight funds are cheap and the banking system is in surplus — treasuries can run lighter buffers and park spare cash in the SDF. When the WACR pushes toward the MSF ceiling, liquidity is tight and the marginal cost of funds rises, pressuring short-term credit and deposit pricing. Because the WACR anchors TREPS, CD and CP rates, it is the first place a treasury desk looks each morning. Its relationship to the repo rate also signals how effectively the RBI’s stance is transmitting — a persistent gap means liquidity, not the policy rate, is doing the work.

Key terms in this dataPlain-English definitions of the terms behind this dashboard — see the full Indian banking glossary. Repo rate · SDF · MSF · LAF · Reverse repo · CRR

Master Direction familySee where these rules sit in the RBI rulebook — browse the relevant Master Direction crosswalk families: Financial Markets Regulation · Internal Debt Management.

More live dataExplore BankPulse’s other live RBI dashboards: Repo Rate · CRR · SLR · Money Supply · Forex Reserves.

WACR & call money rate FAQ

What is the WACR (Weighted Average Call Rate)?

The Weighted Average Call Rate (WACR) is the volume-weighted average interest rate at which banks borrow and lend overnight funds in the uncollateralised call money market. Since 2014 the RBI has used the WACR as the operating target of monetary policy, steering it close to the policy repo rate through liquidity operations.

What is the RBI policy corridor (SDF, repo, MSF)?

The LAF corridor has three rates. The repo rate (5.25%) is the policy rate in the middle. The SDF at 5.00% is the floor, where banks park surplus funds. The MSF at 5.50% is the ceiling, where banks borrow against collateral. The corridor is symmetric at plus or minus 25 bps around the repo rate.

How does the WACR relate to the repo rate?

The RBI keeps the WACR aligned with the repo rate. In a liquidity surplus the WACR drifts toward the SDF floor; in a deficit it rises toward the repo or MSF. The RBI uses repos, reverse repos, VRR/VRRR auctions and OMOs to nudge it back.

Why does the call money rate matter for banks?

The overnight call rate is the shortest point on the yield curve and the marginal cost of overnight funds. It feeds into TREPS, CDs, CPs, short-term benchmarks and banks' cost of funds. A WACR below the repo rate signals easy liquidity; above it signals a deficit.

Last reviewed 20 Jun 2026 by Vikram Jain

Source: RBI Weekly Statistical Supplement (money-market operations) & Monetary Policy decisions, rbi.org.in. Corridor derived from published repo-rate history. Reviewed by Vikram Jain. Last updated 20 Jun 2026, 15:50 IST.

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