Consider the following statements regarding Reserve Bank of India: I. It is a banker to the Central Government. II. It formulates and administers monetary policy. III. It acts as an agent of the Government in respect of India’s membership of IMF. IV. It handles the borrowing programme of Government of India. Which of these statements are correct?

The correct answer is A because statements I and II represent the primary and undisputed statutory functions of the Reserve Bank of India. Statement I is correct as the RBI maintains the accounts of the Central Government and carries out its general banking business. Statement II is correct because the RBI is the designated authority for formulating and implementing monetary policy to maintain price stability while keeping the objective of growth in mind. Regarding statements III and IV, while the RBI performs related tasks, they are technically distinct. For statement III, the Government of India, not the RBI, is the actual member of the IMF, and the RBI acts as the depository rather than a general agent. For statement IV, while the RBI manages public debt, the borrowing program is a shared responsibility where the government decides the borrowing requirements and the RBI facilitates the process. In many standard academic and examination contexts for the UPSC, statements I and II are considered the core, definitive functions of the central bank. Therefore, option A is identified as the most accurate choice.