It is interesting to note that the trend in ad hoc treasury bills has reversed even as the advance tax flows were coming in. The total outstanding ad hocs as of September 13, 1996, was Rs 35,390 crore. The on-tap bills held by banks stood at Rs 100 crore, while those held by state governments stood at Rs 6,277 crore.
The 91-day treasury bills held by banks stood at Rs 3,411 crore and those held by state governments were at Rs 1,782 crore. The total treasury bills held by banks stood at Rs 3,541 crore, while that of state governments was at Rs 8,060 crore.
The aggregate deposits of scheduled commercial banks rose by Rs 757 crore to touch Rs 4,53,853 crore for the fortnight ended September 13. Deposits have grown by 4.6 per cent in the present financial year as against 0.4 per cent for the same period last year.
The rise in aggregate deposits is mainly triggered by the growth in time deposits which rose by Rs 1,240 crore in the fortnight ended September 13 to touch Rs 3,77,502 crore.
Investments of the banking system rose by Rs 1,540 crore during the fortnight to touch Rs 1,77,480 crore on September 13. During the present year, investments rose by 7.7 per cent as against 4.9 per cent in the same period last year.
Bank credit is a totally different story all together. For the fortnight ended September 13, bank credit fell by Rs 2,035 crore to touch Rs 2,47,276 crore. In this fiscal, bank credit has declined by Rs 6,739 crore or 2.7 per cent as against a rise of 1.5 per cent last year at Rs 3,149 crore.
More From This Section
The foreign currency assets rose to $18.28 billion for the week ended September 20 from $18.14 billion on September 13. Gold stayed put at $4.45 billion, but special drawing rights fell to $57 million from $155 million. The total reserves rose to $22.80 billion, up from $22.75 billion.
Money supply (M3) rose by Rs 431 crore for the fortnight ended August 30 to touch Rs 6,30,742 crore. This constitutes a rise of 4.8 per cent or Rs 28,906 crore in the present financial year as against 2.1 per cent or Rs 11,279 crore in the previous financial year.
The rise in money supply can be attributed to the rise in net bank credit to the government which is higher by 6.3 per cent or Rs 16,141 crore this fiscal as against 7.8 per cent or Rs 17,320 crore in the corresponding period in the last financial year.
Reserve money also grew by Rs 4,303 crore for the week ended September 6, 1996 to touch Rs 1,88,497 crore. The rise in reserve money during the fortnight is attributed to the rise in net Reserve Bank of India credit to the government by Rs 5,009 crore (touching Rs 1,29,550 crore). However, in the present financial year, reserve money fell by 3 per cent or Rs 5,840 crore as against a rise of 7.6 per cent or Rs 12,933 crore in the corresponding period last year.