Consider the following statements:

1. The Reserve Bank of India manages and services Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities.

2. Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments.

3. Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is 2 and 3 only.

Let us analyze each statement step-by-step to understand why this is correct:

Statement 1: "The Reserve Bank of India manages and services Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities."

Incorrect: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) manages and services debt issued by both the Central Government (Government of India Securities) and various State Governments (State Development Loans, or SDLs). Under the RBI Act, 1934, RBI acts as the public debt manager for both central and state governments.

Statement 2: "Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments."

Correct: Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term money market instruments issued only by the Central Government of India. State Governments do not issue Treasury bills; instead, they issue State Development Loans (SDLs) to meet their long-term borrowing requirements and utilize Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for short-term liquidity requirements.

Statement 3: "Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value."

Correct: Treasury bills are zero-coupon bonds. They pay no interest during their tenure but are issued at a discount to their face value (par value) and redeemed at par upon maturity. The difference between the issue price and the redemption value constitutes the yield/return for the investor.

Therefore, statements 2 and 3 are correct, making 2 and 3 only the right option.