Shaktikanta Das News

Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank's assessment of grievances received at RBI offices revealed gaps in systems and procedures in financial institutions. «We have brought such deficiencies to the notice of the individual banks and NBFCs. Our effort is to work with the regulated entities and rectify such deficiencies,» Das said at the annual conference of RBI Ombudsman held in Mumbai.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that they lost hundreds of crores of rupees in currency derivatives manipulatively sold by banks, the central bank slapped the lenders with penalties in the range of Rs 5-15 lakh. That was 2011. Come 2024, when the regulator found IIFL Finance Ltd in violation of its guidelines on gold loans, it ordered the company to shutter the business, landing a debilitating blow. The shift in the magnitude of the penalty between then and now not only captures how RBI has moved from kid gloves to boxing gloves in treating regulatory breaches, but also what is in store for potential violators.

RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das shed light on the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency and the progress of the central bank's digital currency initiative. Das reiterated the RBI's stance on cryptocurrency, emphasizing the risks and dangers associated with it. While acknowledging the technological advancements, particularly the blockchain technology underlying cryptocurrencies, Das emphasized the speculative nature of these assets. He highlighted the lack of underlying assets and corresponding liabilities, branding cryptocurrency as a speculative product.

India's pace of economic expansion in FY24 could be close to 8%, likely topping earlier official estimates, said central bank governor Shaktikanta Das. Pointing to the latest high-frequency indicators of growth, Das said, «Now that we have numbers for three quarters… Our sense and understanding of ...the momentum of economic activity tell us this 5.9% growth in the fourth quarter could be exceeded.» He also spoke about the recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) action in the payments sector, challenging what he termed «a narrative building up» that the regulator had taken measures against fintech companies. Das said RBI's action was against a regulated entity — Paytm Payments Bank. «Fintech companies are not regulated by RBI unless they are NBFCs,» he said.

Paytm wallet users will not face any disruption because of regulatory actions, and the remaining users have been advised to link their apps to other banks, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India on January 31 barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in any customer accounts. The deadline for linking the wallet attached with PPBL with other banks has been fixed for March 15, the governor said, ruling out any further extension.

Crisil, in its India outlook report, projected that the Indian economy is poised for substantial growth in the upcoming fiscal year, forecasting a GDP growth rate of 6.8 percent. This indicator, the GDP growth rate, measures the year-over-year or quarterly change in a nation's economic output, offering insight into the pace of economic expansion.

Shaktikanta Das, Governor, the Reserve Bank of India, says «given the uncertainties that we have, including weather-related events, we would like inflation to durably be around 4%. It cannot be just a one-off number or one-month number touching 4% which will give us satisfaction. It has to be sustainable and durable at around 4%. That will give us greater confidence, but the direction is very clear. Inflation is on a downward trajectory. Ever since you took over as the Governor of Reserve Bank of India, December 2018, is this the best macro and the economy set up we have seen? Shaktikanta Das: Yes, in a long time, not just in the last five years. Of course, in the last five years, we have seen several turbulent moments initially coming from the collapse of the IL&FS, followed by the COVID and many other external developments. So, we have gone through a very turbulent period.

By Swati Bhat

Reserve Bank of India has given approval to the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) Bharat BillPay Ltd to implement an interoperable payment system for internet banking transactions, governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday. “We expect the launch of this interoperable payment system for internet banking during the current calendar year. The new system will facilitate quicker settlement of funds for merchants,” Das said during a digital payments awareness event organised by the RBI. Internet banking, one of the oldest channels for online merchant payment transactions, is a favoured channel for payments like income tax, insurance premiums, mutual fund payments and e-commerce, but the current system faces certain challenges, Das said.

repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent for the sixth straight meeting this month and decided to focus on the withdrawal of accommodation. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has reiterated that the policy imperative at the current juncture is to remain focused on achieving the four per cent inflation target on a durable basis, keeping in mind the objective of growth.

steady at 6.5 per cent for the sixth consecutive meeting on February 8, 2024, and also decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation. In its latest minutes-of-the-meeting, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the current setting of monetary policy is moving in the right direction, with growth holding firm and inflation trending down to the target. Also Read: RBI MPC Minutes: Job on inflation front not over, ‘last mile’ of disinflation can be sticky; 5 key highlights "At this juncture, monetary policy must remain vigilant and not assume that our job on the inflation front is over.

interest rates have created the scope for reduction in policy interest rates, said external members of the Monetary Policy Committee, but those from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) believe that the markets are running ahead of policy makers. Prof. J.R. Varma, who voted for a reduction in the repo rate by a quarter point and a shift in monetary stance to neutral from withdrawal of accommodation, said the economy is not overheating and the MPC needs to send a signal it is living up to its dual mandate on inflation and growth. “Inflation is projected to average 4.5% in 2024-25, and, therefore, the current policy rate of 6.5% translates into a real rate of 2%,’’ Varma wrote in the minutes of the meeting of the last policy review. “The time has come for the MPC to send a clear signal that it takes its dual mandate of inflation and growth seriously, and that it would not maintain a real interest rate that is significantly more than what is needed to achieve its target.’’ But the members from the central bank led by the governor are a lot more cautious given that behaviour of inflation in the past have caught policy makers on the wrong foot.

policy committee (MPC) meeting on February 8 decided to keep the benchmark interest rate (repo rate) unchanged at 6.5 per cent citing inflationary concerns. Five members including Dr. Michael Debabrata, Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, and Rajiv Ranjan voted for status quo on the policy rate for the sixth consecutive time, while Jayanth R Varma voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points.

Paytm may just be the beginning. India stunned investors last month by abruptly suspending most activities of the banking affiliate of Paytm, a once high-flying fintech star that had attracted backing from Warren Buffett and SoftBank Group Corp. While the Paytm case was an extreme example of lapses in customer verification — it allegedly used a single identity document to open thousands of accounts — the crackdown signals growing impatience from authorities. Hardly a day passes when a bank or fintech firm isn’t fined for failing to properly vet its customers, ensnaring top lenders from State Bank of India to Citigroup Inc. Fed up with the persistent shortcomings, the Reserve Bank of India is likely to get even tougher before Governor Shaktikanta Das steps down this year.

Reserve Bank of India in the February edition of its monthly bulletin said that expectations of a fresh round of capital expenditure by the corporate sector will likely fuel the next leg of growth. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that investment cycle in India is gaining steam, thanks to sustained thrust on government capex, increasing capacity utilisation, rising flow of resources to the commercial sector, and policy support from schemes such as production linked incentive (PLI scheme).

Dilip Asbe, managing director of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is optimistic about the central bank’s new CBDC initiatives.

programmability and offline functionality of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) are going to drive the next fintech wave, said National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) managing director Dilip Asbe. He was speaking at a panel discussion with Jay Kotak, co-head of Kotak811, and MN Srinivasu, co-founder of Bill Desk, at the Mumbai Tech Week on Sunday.

Paytm Payments Bank, shares of One 97 Communications on Wednesday tumbled up to 9% to day's low at Rs 344.90 on BSE. In the last 10 trading days since the RBI ban was announced, the stock has lost about 55% of its value or Rs 26,000 crore in market capitalisation. Global broking firm Macquarie, which has shared a love-hate relationship with Paytm stock, has downgraded the new-age stock to underperform with a target price going as low as Rs 275.

inflation prints due this week. The benchmark 10-year yield ended at 7.0946%following its previous close of 7.1067%.

Retail inflation eased to a three-month low of 5.1% in January compared with 5.7% in December, reversing course from the previous two months, according to data released Monday. Another data release showed that industrial output rose back again in December to 3.8% compared with 2.4%, indicating improving prospects. Experts point out that moderating inflation coupled with strong growth provides further policy space for RBI to cut rates in the latter half of the year.

Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL), the Reserve Bank will issue a set of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) this week. «Wait for FAQ that will have a set of clarifications related to customers of PPBL as our priority is customers should not be inconvenienced. Customer interest and depositors interest is uppermost for us,» RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said after the Finance Minister's customary address to the central bank's board. In a major action against Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL), RBI, on January 31, directed it to stop accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29. Asked if the deadline of February 29 would be extended, Das said, «Wait for the FAQ.