What is the role of the Reserve Bank of India in the Indian banking system?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), established in 1935 and functioning as central bank since 1949, supervises and manages India's banking system. RBI maintains accounts of other banks, facilitates fund exchanges between banks, provides loans to banks and government, sets rules for printing and distributing Indian currency, and fixes benchmark interest rates for commercial banks, thus acting as the banker to banks.