Source: ET
Context:
On September 19, 2025, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra invited the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) to build infrastructure for trading and settling currency pairs beyond USD–INR, aligning with India’s broader objective of rupee internationalisation.
Background:
- CCIL was set up in April 2001 following recommendations of the Sodhani Committee (1995) and subsequent committees on forex and settlement systems.
- Promoted by SBI, LIC, BoB, IDBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
- First chairman: R.H. Patil (founder of NSE).
- Emerged after the East Asian Financial Crisis (1997) highlighted risks in weak settlement systems.
Key Functions of CCIL:
- Clearing & Settlement: Acts as a Central Counterparty (CCP) in government securities, forex, money markets, and OTC derivatives.
- Risk Management: Provides guaranteed settlement by novation, reduces bilateral counterparty risks, and ensures financial stability through collateral/margins.
- Platforms Managed:
- NDS-OM (Negotiated Dealing System–Order Matching): Primary platform for government bond trading.
- PDO-NDS: Facilitates electronic bidding in government securities.
- FX-Retail: Transparent forex platform for individuals and MSMEs.
- Retail Direct (with RBI): Enables retail investors to invest directly in G-Secs (minimum reduced from ₹10 lakh to ₹10,000).
Subsidiaries:
- Clearcorp Dealing Systems (2003): Runs electronic trading platforms.
- Legal Entity Identifier India Ltd (2015): Issues globally compatible LEIs.
- CCIL IFSC Ltd (2024): Strengthens market infra at GIFT City.
