Identify the money market instrument, which meets Central Government need of Short-term funds :

Treasury Bill

The correct answer is option (3)- Treasury Bill.

The money market instrument that meets the Central Government's need for short-term funds is Treasury Bill.

A Treasury bill is basically an instrument of short-term borrowing by the Government of India maturing in less than one year. They are also known as Zero Coupon Bonds issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Central Government to meet its short-term requirement of funds.

OTHER OPTIONS

* Call Money: Call money is short-term finance repayable on demand, with a maturity period of one day to fifteen days, used for inter-bank transactions. Call money is a method by which banks borrow from each other to be able to maintain the cash reserve ratio.

* Commercial Paper: Commercial paper is a short-term unsecured promissory note, negotiable and transferable by endorsement and delivery with a fixed maturity period. It is issued by large and creditworthy companies to raise short-term funds at lower rates of interest than market rates.

* Certificate of Deposit: Certificates of deposit (CD) are unsecured, negotiable, short-term instruments in bearer form, issued by commercial banks and development financial institutions. They can be issued to individuals, corporations and companies during periods of tight liquidity when the deposit growth of banks is slow but the demand for credit is high. They help to mobilise a large amount of money for short periods.