RBI holds Rs 8 lakh crore of government bonds, says Raghuram Rajan

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said the central bank holds around Rs 8 lakh crore of government bonds with it.

"We have about Rs 8 lakh crore of government bonds," Rajan said at the launch of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system here on Monday. RBI's government securities accumulation happens either from buying through the markets or through open market operations.

Rajan also said the country's foreign exchange reserves has touched nearly $360 billion. In the week to April 1, the country's foreign exchange reserves surged by $4.2 billion to touch a record high of $359.759 billion.

Rajan launched UPI that will empower users to perform instant push and pull transaction seamlessly. He said the country is on the cusp of technological revolution and has the most sophisticated public payment infrastructure in the world that can be accessible by anybody.