In special initiative for financial inclusion, RBI deputy governor visits J'khand village
The visit was part of the RBI's extensive outreach program, aimed at encouraging the financial inclusion campaign and promoting transparency and efficiency in connecting with and serving the customers.
To connect the general public with financial and banking facilities and various social security schemes, such as Jan-Dhan Yojana, and to complete re-KYC process for eligible accounts, the RBI and the Ministry of Finance have jointly launched an intensive financial inclusion saturation campaign from July 1 to September 30, in all Gram Panchayats across the country.
"These camps are for connecting with people and ensuring that everyone is linked to financial system and make use of its benefits. Keeping bank accounts updated helps in providing uninterrupted banking services. The re-KYC campaign is a crucial step towards inclusive service delivery, and we are committed to ensuring that no customer is left behind," Rao said addressing the camp.
The response to the camp was very enthusiastic, and all the participants appreciated it, a statement said.
"Re-KYC for a total of 3,965 accounts was successfully completed in the camp till 4 pm and more than 7,000 customers enrolled for social security schemes during the camp exercise," the statement added.
Several PSU and private banks participated in the camp.
Before visiting the camp, the RBI deputy governor shared his thoughts on 'Central Bank Communication' under the lecture series - 'Facets of Central Bank', an innovative initiative of the RBI's Ranchi Regional Office.
He highlighted the significant role of the RBI as a central bank and shed light on the crucial role of central bank communication with various stakeholders in providing a desired direction to the economic environment of any country and in raising awareness and understanding about policies, guidelines, and far-reaching steps.
Additionally, a 'dialogue' session was organised for the officers and staff of the Ranchi Regional Office.
The deputy governor interacted with the bank officials and customers who participated in the camp and emphasised the importance of banks adopting a customer-friendly approach and keeping their customers' account details updated.
Recently, the RBI has further simplified the re-KYC process for low-risk customers through its Master Direction dated June 12, 2025 and has allowed the involvement of Business Correspondents in this process.
As on June 30, 2025, there are a total of 3,436 bank branches and 1,10,973 active Business Correspondents in Jharkhand.
"Banks can take advantage of their BC network to expedite the re-KYC of eligible accounts and accounts falling due for re-KYC in the next one year," the statement said.
While discussing the role of RBI as a central bank, the Deputy Governor said that RBI is a full-service central bank which performs core functions such as monetary policy, currency management, regulation and supervision, payment systems, financial inclusion, management of foreign exchange reserves as well as a number of developmental functions.
As a regulator and supervisor, RBI has laid the foundation for a strong financial sector that helps the country meet its developmental aspirations.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Around $30-35 billion of India's merchandise exports to America at risk from Trump's tariffs, says UBS Chief India Economist
US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a total tariff of 50 per cent on India has put at risk $30 billion-$35 billion worth of New Delhi's exports to the world's largest economy, according to Tanvee Gupta Jain, UBS' Chief India Economist. Consequently, India — whose merchandise exports to the US in 2024 totalled $87.3 billion, resulting in a surplus of $45.8 billion — faces the risk of losing almost a full percentage point from its GDP growth over two years, she said. In an interview with The Indian Express Siddharth, Jain also shed light on the possibility of India reducing its purchase of Russian oil and the Indian economy's growth and inflation prospects in light of the RBI's latest monetary policy decision. Edited excerpts: US tariff on India is now 50 per cent, with a three-week waiting period. Purely in terms of the trade relations, what is your assessment of the impact? US President Donald Trump has now announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for buying oil from Russia, taking the total tariffs to 50 per cent. This additional tariff is effective from August 27, that is 21 days after the executive order. There are a few sectors including pharma, smartphones, (that) are currently under section 232 investigations and are exempted from tariffs. The exempted sectors account for $24 billion or around 30 per cent of India's total goods exports to the US of $87 billion. The way we look at the impact of the tariffs is as follows: we note the US accounts for $87 billion or 20 per cent of India's goods export, or about 2.2 per cent of India's GDP. We multiply the new tariff rate with trade exposure to the US to get a 'GDP at risk' measure. Further assuming a -1 price elasticity, we estimate drag from the proposed tariffs that is 25 per cent effective from today and an additional 25 per cent effective from August 27 versus our current baseline to be 35 basis points (bps) in 2025-26 and 60 bps in 2026-27. We would stress that our estimates are subject to substantial uncertainty as the trade negotiations with the US are ongoing. In addition, other considerations for our growth forecast include how global growth pans out and if counter-cyclical policy support could help support domestic demand momentum in the face of tariff-related uncertainties. These are just scenarios that we have. We are not yet changing our estimates as a lot will depend on how the negotiations happen over the coming weeks and months. So, the exports at risk from the tariffs are roughly $56 billion or so. Do you have an estimate of how much that could fall by if the 50 per cent tariff stays in place? I would say the exports at risk out of India's $87 billion of goods exports to the US, taking into account the exemptions, are roughly around $30 billion-$35 billion. The 21-day pause gives some time for the negotiations to continue later this month. Do you see any sign of a deal with the US resulting in a meaningfully lower tariff rate without India conceding ground on its two non-negotiables: agriculture and dairy? Taking lessons from India's Asian peers that have negotiated a trade deal with the US — including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan — we expect India to open its market to the US, implying zero tariffs on American goods. Like its peers, we expect India to commit to increasing purchases of energy and defence equipment from the US to bring down its goods trade surplus of $46 billion as of 2024. However, opening up agriculture and dairy sectors to the US remains a key hurdle. These low value-added sectors could impact Indian farmers' livelihoods — especially small ones engaged in dairy production. India's dairy sector accounts for 3 per cent of nominal gross value added and provides a living for over 80 million dairy farmers. In our base case, we would expect a trade deal to happen sooner than later as any lingering uncertainty is a drag to overall growth. As per media reports, the US trade delegation is likely to visit India sometime in the last week of August as part of this discussion. So, we are hoping that something comes out of it. It is interesting that the start date of these additional tariffs, August 27, is a couple of days after the next round of talks between the US and India. India's trade with Russia is clearly an issue for the US. Can India source oil from other countries without a meaningful impact on domestic fuel prices, overall inflation, and the government's finances? India is a net oil importer and we import almost 88 per cent of our oil requirement. So clearly, movements in oil prices will have a very important bearing on our macro stability risks, including current account, inflation, and the government's finances. Hence, it will impact the overall economic growth prospects. Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022, Russia's share in India's oil imports was 2 per cent. This rose to 36 per cent in 2024-25. As per UBS' oil analysts, Indian refineries are typically complex because the units are optimised to process the heavier Russian Ural. Further, the price advantage of the Ural crude to Brent, which was very favourable for India when the conflict began in 2022, has now reduced to $2-3 per barrel on a landed cost basis. So, India may not lose much if it shifts away from Russian oil because the savings right now are only $2 billion. But the UBS global energy team has also pointed out that the crude market is only partially pricing supply disruption due to tariff pressures on India. So, it could temporarily drive crude prices above $70 a barrel. But if there is sufficient surplus and OPEC spare capacity, it can definitely cap the upside in prices. There is now a pressure to finish trade deals quickly. Is there anything to be worried about in terms of these deals resulting in India giving up too much during negotiations or not extracting as favourable terms as it could have otherwise? To be fair, India was the first country to come to the table to negotiate with the US and we are still there right now. So, it seems that India is trying to prioritise national interest and it is not in any rush to finish a trade deal quickly. The hope is that we are able to find a balanced deal between India and the US which works to both the countries' benefit. RBI's Monetary Policy Committee stayed put on the repo rate, but you now expect an additional 25 bps rate cut in October given the uncertainty caused by the tariffs. How does one understand this additional easing given that the central bank's latest forecast puts headline retail inflation at 4.9 per cent in April-June 2026? Our inflation forecast for 2025-26 — even before the Reserve Bank of India lowered their estimate by 60 bps to 3.1 per cent — was tracking close to 3 per cent with more downside risk. This is supported by good agricultural output, favourable monsoon, and the lower global crude oil prices. The offloading of excess China capacity in India at cheaper prices could result in a disinflationary impulse. Overlaying this disinflationary impulse with RBI's neutral policy rate assumption of 1.4-1.9 per cent, we see space for the terminal repo rate to fall towards 5-5.25 per cent range. For now, we add one 25 bps rate cut in the October meeting to our baseline, with risk of another (rate cut) if growth surprises lower, driven by US trade tariffs and/or a step shift lower in global growth. Yes, the one-year forward inflation of 4.9 per cent looks very high because of the base effect. But I would expect the new CPI inflation series, which will likely be launched early next year, to streamline that one-year forward inflation forecast. At this point, we think the RBI has kept some ammunition in the form of monetary easing support in case growth risks are skewed towards the downside. The RBI has maintained its 2025-26 GDP growth forecast at 6.5 per cent despite the global uncertainty, although it did trim it back in April by 20 bps from 6.7 per cent. Is the RBI possibly underestimating the hit to growth — not just from the tariffs themselves but also the adverse impact on corporate sentiment from the uncertainty? I would give the RBI some benefit of doubt because the MPC meeting took place before the additional 25 per cent tariff was announced. If we only incorporate the 25 per cent tariff that was in place before the additional tariff got announced after the RBI policy, the downside risk to GDP growth in real terms for 2025-26 was only coming to around 10-15 bps, as per our estimates. You recently launched your rural and urban economic activity indicators, where you said household consumption recovery is expected to become broad-based over the next 2-3 quarters backed by RBI's rate cuts, softer inflation, good monsoon, and income tax relief, among other factors. Will this recovery sustain without an appreciable rise in actual income levels? The UBS India Composite Economic Indicator, our leading indicator with 15 high-frequency data points, suggests economic momentum softened in May. This is in line with our global growth nowcast which suggests that tariffs and global uncertainty dragged growth sharply in May after a resilient April, helped by US tariff front-loading including improved demand, production, and trade. Our activity indicators suggest rural activity improved, while urban activity remained subdued in the June quarter. We note that rural accounts for 46 per cent share of total consumption. Even as rural activity is gaining traction, we believe it is still too early to expect a broad-based recovery in household consumption as urban activity continues to soften. One of the factors supporting our view that household consumption could be the bright spot in 2025-26/2026-27 was urban demand will stabilise on monetary transmission, lower inflation, and policy stimulus from income tax relief and likely fuel price cuts. We were also expecting a pay boost under the pay commission. However, implementation of the Eighth Central Pay Commission seems likely to be delayed to early 2027. While consumption will be growth-supportive, we are not expecting a broad-based household consumption recovery anytime soon. Siddharth Upasani is a Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. He reports primarily on data and the economy, looking for trends and changes in the former which paint a picture of the latter. Before The Indian Express, he worked at Moneycontrol and financial newswire Informist (previously called Cogencis). Outside of work, sports, fantasy football, and graphic novels keep him busy. ... Read More
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Pilots union calls for proper legal representation of airline employees during investigations
NEW DELHI: The Air Line Pilots' Association of India (ALPA), representing 1,200 active pilots, has raised serious concerns about airline employees facing unilateral disciplinary actions without proper hearings. In a formal communication to aviation regulator DGCA released on Saturday, ALPA General Secretary Captain Anil Rao stated: "In numerous cases, airline employees have been subjected to unilateral and adverse decisions without being granted the opportunity to be heard, let alone being represented, either in person or through legal counsel." Rao alleged violation of the fundamental legal principle of 'right to be heard', saying: "The principle of the right to be heard (audi-alteram partem) has been blatantly violated, resulting in undue stress, reputational harm and even loss of livelihood for some." The statement highlighted growing concerns about how airlines conduct internal investigations involving pilots and cabin crew. The release clarified that most aviation staff - including pilots (except those in managerial roles), co-pilots, flight engineers, cabin crew, maintenance engineers, technicians, ground staff and ticketing agents - qualify as 'workmen' under Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This classification, supported by Supreme Court and various High Court rulings, depends on the nature of duties rather than job titles or salaries. ALPA urged DGCA to mandate that airlines allow proper representation through legal counsel during inquiries and prevent ex-parte decisions affecting employment. The association stressed that no suspension or termination should occur without giving employees a fair chance to respond. The move comes amid increasing complaints from aviation professionals about unfair disciplinary procedures in the industry.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
RBI Deputy Governor Bats For Financial Literacy Alongside Banking Access
New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan Janakiraman on Saturday highlighted that true financial inclusion goes beyond expanding banking access, stressing the need to empower citizens through financial literacy. Speaking at the Indian Bank-hosted 'Financial Inclusion Saturation' programme, Janakiraman said programmes like Re-KYC camps help people enhance their quality of life and support the nation's economic development in addition to making banking services more accessible. Customers can update their Know Your Customer (KYC) information through the Re-KYC drive without physically visiting bank branches, which the RBI official said is especially helpful for underserved and rural communities. Indian Bank, which hosted the camp, said the outreach focused on updating KYC for Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana account holders, while also promoting enrolment under two flagship social security schemes -- the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, a renewable term life insurance plan, and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, offering personal accident cover against death or disability. Applauding the bank's efforts, Janakiraman said such proactive measures bring essential services closer to citizens, reducing the burden on customers and boosting participation in the formal financial system. Indian Bank Managing Director and CEO, Binod Kumar, reaffirmed the lender's goal of 'bringing banking to the doorstep of every citizen' and enabling broader participation in India's growth story. More than 2,000 members of the local community participated in Tiruvallur's Financial Inclusion Saturation program, which received a positive response. A wide range of individuals, including farmers, self-help group members, students, and senior citizens, attended the event, demonstrating the initiative's broad appeal and pertinence. Nearly 350 clients successfully finished their Re-KYC updates during the event, removing the need for them to visit bank branches and highlighting the camp's contribution to improving accessibility and convenience.
