With reference to the Indian economy, “Collateral Borrowing and Lending Obligations” are the instruments of:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Money market
Collateralised Borrowing and Lending Obligations (CBLO) are money market instruments: short-term loans in which the borrower gives securities as collateral. The Reserve Bank of India itself describes CBLO as a money market instrument, run through the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) from 20 January 2003.
- ✓ (c) CBLO let banks, mutual funds and other participants borrow and lend funds for short periods against collateral. Short-term borrowing and lending is what the money market does.
- ✗ (a) The bond market trades long-term debt securities. CBLO is a short-term borrowing and lending tool, not a bond.
- ✗ (b) The forex market deals in currencies. CBLO involves rupee funds and collateral, not currency exchange.
- ✗ (d) The stock market trades company shares. CBLO is a debt-like short-term funding instrument.
Remember · CBLO (Collateralised Borrowing and Lending Obligation) is a money market instrument operated through CCIL, used for short-term collateralised funding.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India, Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2003-04, Chapter VII (Financial Stability) ↗ “Collateralised Borrowing and Lending Obligation (CBLO), which was operationalised as a money market instrument through CCIL on January 20, 2003.”
- Reserve Bank of India speech: Financial Markets in India: Recent Developments and Challenges ↗ “Money market instruments such as market repos and collateralized borrowing and lending obligation (CBLO) have provided avenues for non-banks to manage their short- term liquidity mismatches”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·