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Business Standard
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Six-member board to regulate payment systems: RBI notification
RBI governor headed a six-member Payments Regulatory Board, including three central government nominees, will regulate and supervise payment systems in the country, according to a central bank notification. The Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) will replace the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement System (BPSS). The five-member BPSS is also headed by the RBI Governor but does not include any government nominee. The other members are a deputy government concerned and three directors from the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank has now notified 'Payments Regulatory Board Regulations, 2025'. According to the notification, other members of the governor-headed Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) will be the Deputy Governor in charge of the Payment and Settlement Systems, one officer of the RBI to be nominated by the Central Board, and three persons nominated by the central government. RBI Governor, Deputy Governor and the central bank official will function as "ex officio" members of the Board. It further said the PRB may invite persons with experience in the fields of payment and settlement systems, information technology, and law to attend its meeting either as permanent or ad hoc invitees and the Principal Legal Adviser of the RBI shall be a permanent invitee to the meetings. The Payments Regulatory Board shall ordinarily meet at least twice a year, the notification said. Earlier, the government had set up an inter-ministerial committee headed by the economic affairs secretary to finalise amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. In its draft report, the panel suggested the creation of an independent regulator Payments Regulatory Board to deal with payments-related issues. The Reserve Bank of India, in October 2018, released its 'Dissent Note' on the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the finalisation of Amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, objecting to the panel's recommendation of having a regulator for payment systems outside the RBI. "The Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) must remain with the Reserve Bank and be headed by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India. It may comprise 3 members nominated by the Government and RBI, respectively, with a casting vote for the Governor to ensure smooth operations of the Board. The composition of the PRB is also not in conformity with the announcements made in the Finance Bill by the Honourable Finance Minister," the RBI's 'Dissent Note' had said. According to the notification, each member of the Board shall have one vote. "All matters for approval which come up during any meeting of the Board shall be decided by a majority of votes of the Members present and voting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson, or in his absence, the Deputy Governor, who is a Member of the Board, shall have a second or casting vote," said the notification published on May 21 in The Gazette of India. Commenting on the notification, Ranadurjay Talukdar, Partner and Payments Sector Leader, EY India said: "India has never seen payments regulated outside of the RBI. RBI oversight over the years has ensured stringent governance of systemic risks arising from the payments ecosystem -- setting up appropriate guardrails to protect consumer interests (such as grievance redressal and KYC guidelines) and infrastructural resilience (such as the cybersecurity framework for PSOs)". However, the establishment of a PRB with the right industry representation can lead to greater innovation; whether by expanding tokenisation to enable device-based payments across schemes or by introducing newer entities like NUEs to balance ever-growing digital payments volumes, Talukdar said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Six-member board to regulate payment systems: RBI notification
RBI governor headed a six-member Payments Regulatory Board, including three central government nominees, will regulate and supervise payment systems in the country, according to a central bank notification. The Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) will replace the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement System (BPSS). The five-member BPSS is also headed by the RBI Governor but does not include any government nominee. The other members are a deputy government concerned and three directors from the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India . The Reserve Bank has now notified 'Payments Regulatory Board Regulations, 2025'. According to the notification, other members of the governor-headed Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) will be the Deputy Governor in charge of the Payment and Settlement Systems, one officer of the RBI to be nominated by the Central Board, and three persons nominated by the central government. RBI Governor, Deputy Governor and the central bank official will function as "ex officio" members of the Board. Live Events It further said the PRB may invite persons with experience in the fields of payment and settlement systems, information technology, and law to attend its meeting either as permanent or ad hoc invitees and the Principal Legal Adviser of the RBI shall be a permanent invitee to the meetings. The Payments Regulatory Board shall ordinarily meet at least twice a year, the notification said. Earlier, the government had set up an inter-ministerial committee headed by the economic affairs secretary to finalise amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. In its draft report, the panel suggested the creation of an independent regulator Payments Regulatory Board to deal with payments-related issues. The Reserve Bank of India, in October 2018, released its ' Dissent Note ' on the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the finalisation of Amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, objecting to the panel's recommendation of having a regulator for payment systems outside the RBI. "The Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) must remain with the Reserve Bank and be headed by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India. It may comprise 3 members nominated by the Government and RBI, respectively, with a casting vote for the Governor to ensure smooth operations of the Board. The composition of the PRB is also not in conformity with the announcements made in the Finance Bill by the Honourable Finance Minister," the RBI's 'Dissent Note' had said. According to the notification, each member of the Board shall have one vote. "All matters for approval which come up during any meeting of the Board shall be decided by a majority of votes of the Members present and voting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson, or in his absence, the Deputy Governor, who is a Member of the Board, shall have a second or casting vote," said the notification published on May 21 in The Gazette of India. Commenting on the notification, Ranadurjay Talukdar, Partner and Payments Sector Leader, EY India said: "India has never seen payments regulated outside of the RBI. RBI oversight over the years has ensured stringent governance of systemic risks arising from the payments ecosystem -- setting up appropriate guardrails to protect consumer interests (such as grievance redressal and KYC guidelines) and infrastructural resilience (such as the cybersecurity framework for PSOs)". However, the establishment of a PRB with the right industry representation can lead to greater innovation; whether by expanding tokenisation to enable device-based payments across schemes or by introducing newer entities like NUEs to balance ever-growing digital payments volumes, Talukdar said.
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Business Standard
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Govt to have a say in new payments regulatory board with a significant role
In a major overhaul of the payments ecosystem, the Centre has notified the 'Payments Regulatory Board Regulations, 2025' to pave the way for a new Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) which will have significant representation from the government, and replace the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement System (BPSS). The BPSS is a committee of the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that exercises powers on its behalf, to regulate and supervise the payment and settlement systems in the country. The new regulatory entity, PRB, will be assisted by the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS), a department in the RBI. According to a notification published on May 21, the composition of the Board will be in accordance with Section 3 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (PSS), 2007. Along with the RBI governor, who will be the Chairperson, the RBI Deputy Governor in charge of payment and settlement systems, and an RBI officer nominated by its central board, the Board will include three members nominated by the central government. Additionally, the PRB may invite persons with experience in the fields of payment and settlement systems, information technology, law, etc., to attend its meeting either as permanent or as ad hoc invitees, with the principal legal adviser of the RBI to be a permanent invitee. 'As I see it, there will be three nominees from the government and three from the RBI, with the governor having a casting vote. With this shift, the government will also have a significant role in the payment ecosystem. The industry will have to see if it appoints secretaries or independent experts from outside,' an industry executive with the knowledge of the matter said. Under the extant BPSS structure, the RBI governor is the chairperson of the board, that also includes a deputy governor, not more than three directors of the central board nominated by the RBI governor, two executive directors nominated by the governor, as well as the RBI's legal adviser. The notification states that the PRB may delegate any or all its powers or functions to the Chairperson of the board, or a member of the board, or a sub-committee of the board, or officers of RBI as it may deem fit and necessary for the efficient administration of the functions of the board. The PRB is required to meet at least twice in a year, and the meetings will be presided over by the chairperson or in his absence, by the deputy governor. The notification states that each member of the board will have one vote, and any item of business requires voting, then such an item will be decided by a majority of votes. In the event of an equality of votes, the chairperson, or in his absence, the Deputy Governor, will have a second or casting vote. In 2017, an inter-ministerial committee for finalising amendments to the PSS Act, 2007, had recommended, in a draft report, the creation of an independent regulator PRB to deal with payments related issues, with the chairperson appointed by the government in consultation with the RBI. Consequently, RBI in a strongly-worded dissent note said there is no case for having a regulator for payment systems outside the central bank. According to the RBI's dissent note in October 2018, PRB should be headed by the RBI governor, with the government nominating three members to the board, and a casting vote for the governor. 'The overarching impact of monetary policy on payment and settlement systems and vice versa provides support for regulation of payment systems to be with the monetary authority," the dissent note had stated. According to the notification published on Wednesday, the nominated members on the new board cannot be above 70 years of age; a member of parliament or any state legislature; have material conflict of interest with any other payment system and are unable to resolve such conflict, among other things. 'The composition of the board would have members from areas such as technology and payments systems. This implies that the board may want to look at the ecosystem from a holistic perspective by adding more members who may not directly be regulators,' an industry executive said. 'This board was under discussion. There is a fintech department, then there is DPSS, and other things. This new board may sit above everything else so that there are common standards in place to coordinate things,' a senior industry executive said.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Welsh rugby's Judgement Day shelved for a season
Welsh rugby's Judgement Day event will not take place next season as the United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures were released for the 2025-26 Day is a Welsh derby annual double-header involving all four professional sides held at the same date at the same venue, normally the Principality Professional Rugby Board (PRB), which consists of representatives from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and four regions and runs the professional game in Wales, confirmed the event will take a 'hiatus' next year.A PRB statement says the event will be paused in 2026 so it can be "re-imagined" because it still has "huge potential". The Judgement Day concept started in 2013 with more than 68,000 turning up at the Principality Stadium in 2016 but the event's popularity has waned in recent 10th edition of the event in its current guise was staged at the Principality Stadium this April and attracted a crowd of 28, was the lowest attendance of the nine Principality Stadium occasions, although the crowd figure was 8,000 fewer when the event was switched to Cardiff City Stadium in head coach Mark Jones and Scarlets captain Josh Macleod say they hoped the event could have a future if the crowds could be coaxed back. "We will rethink the product we are offering and bring back an event to showcase Welsh professional rugby in the future," said a PRB spokesperson."The concept has huge potential and its early incarnations were a proven success, but we think it is time to re-imagine it."Instead, this season will see Welsh rugby concentrate on attracting maximum crowds for the respective derby days and other showcase fixtures at our home venues."In contrast, more than 50,000 attended the Bath versus Bristol league game for an historic English league game staged at the home of Welsh rugby in May. Bath and Bristol will return to the Principality Stadium next season for what they bill as the 'Big Day Out.' Ospreys start in South Africa The new URC season will begin on the final weekend in September when Dragons will travel to face Ulster on Friday, 26 September, while Cardiff host Lions and Scarlets entertain Munster the following will open their season by making the 5,600-mile flight to South Africa with two games against Bulls and Stormers, having also just finished the 2024-25 campaign are hoping to move to their new St Helen's ground by December and only have two home games in their first six matches with the venue of these games yet to be established. The format of the competition remains unchanged, with the top eight teams progressing to the play-offs beginning 29 semi-finals will be played on 6 June, followed by the Grand Final on 20 fixtures have been released in the same week the latest off-the-field crisis has hit Welsh rugby.A dispute has emerged between the WRU and Ospreys and Scarlets who are at loggerheads following the governing body's decision to implement an unequal funding system for the four professional WRU made the announcement it was reverting to a two-tier funding model amid reports it intends to cut a professional team, although it has neither confirmed nor denied if reducing the amount of sides from four to three is part of its WRU is currently contractually obliged to provide four sides in the URC and will face financial penalties if that commitment is not fulfilled. URC fixtures for Welsh sides Cardiff's 2025-26 fixtures: Lions (h) 27 Sept; Munster (a) 4 Oct; Connacht (h) 11 Oct; Dragons (a) 17 Oct; Edinburgh (h) 25 Oct; Zebre (a) 29 Nov; Scarlets (h) 19 Dec; Dragons (h) 26 Dec; Ospreys (a) 1 Jan; Benetton (h) 24 Jan; Ulster (a) 31 Jan; Leinster (h) 27 Feb; Bulls (a) 20 Mar; Sharks (a) 27 Mar; Scarlets (a) 18 April; Ospreys (h) 24 April; Glasgow (a) 8 May; Stormers (h) 15 2025-26 fixtures: Ulster (a) 26 Sept; Sharks (h) 3 Oct; Glasgow (a) 11 Oct; Cardiff (h) 17 Oct; Ospreys (h) 25 Oct; Leinster (h) 28 Nov; Connacht (h) 20 Dec; Cardiff (a) 26 Dec; Scarlets (h) 1 Jan; Munster (a) 23 Jan; Ospreys (a) 31 Jan; Benetton (h) 28 Feb; Stormers (a) 21 Mar; Lions (a) 28 Mar; Bulls (h) 17 April; Zebre (a) 24 April; Edinburgh (h) 9 May; Scarlets (a) 16 May. Ospreys 2025-26 fixtures: Bulls (a) 27 Sep; Stormers (a) 3 Oct; Zebre (h) 11 Oct; Glasgow (h) 18 Oct; Dragons (a) 25 Oct; Edinburgh (a) 29 Nov; Munster (h) 20 Dec; Scarlets (a) 26 Dec; Cardiff (h) 1 Jan; Lions (h) 23 Jan; Dragons (h) 31 Jan; Ulster (h) 28 Feb; Benetton (a) 21 Mar; Connacht (a) 28 Mar; Sharks (h) 18 April; Cardiff (a) 24 April; Scarlets (h) 9 May; Leinster (a) 16 2025-26 fixtures: Munster (h) 27 Sept; Connacht (a) 3 Oct; Stormers (h) 10 Oct; Lions (a) 18 Oct; Sharks (a) 25 Oct; Glasgow (h) 29 Nov; Cardiff (a) 19 Dec; Ospreys (h) 26 Dec; Dragons (a) 1 Jan; Ulster (h) 24 Jan; Benetton (a) 30 Jan; Edinburgh (a) 27 Feb; Zebre (h) 20 Mar; Leinster (a) 28 Mar; Cardiff (h) 18 April; Bulls (h) 25 April; Ospreys (a) 9 May; Dragons (h) 16 May.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Govt plugging gaps to block foreign 'funding' of news
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel MUMBAI: New Delhi is closing the chinks to block foreign donations from bankrolling print and digital newspapers in the first time, several non-profit entities, backed by foundations and philanthropists abroad, have been asked to give sworn declarations that they would not print or publish news or views on public donations can only be received by organisations that are registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA), an emergency era law that has been tightened over the years amid fears of applying for a new FCRA licence and reactivating cancelled licences, chief functionaries of a number of non-profits associated with publications, had to sign certain affidavits. The formats of the newly-introduced affidavits, to be attested by a Notary Public, make it virtually impossible to receive foreign contributions in news outlets by interpreting laws differently, said professionals advising many non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It's a preemptive move by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to restrain NGOs from mischaracterising 'media activities' as 'education or research'.NGOs or non-profits can be set up as trusts, or charitable societies, or companies formed under Section 8 of the Companies Act.(1) If an entity under FCRA owns a publication which is registered under The Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), it must give an undertaking that the publication "does not contain public news, views, or comments on the public news." Also, it's not a 'newspaper' in terms of Section 1(1) of The Press and Registration of Books Act (PRB), 1867.(2) If an entity receiving foreign donations is engaged in printing or publishing a periodical which is not registered with RNI, the organisation must state that the publication does not come under the definition of newspaper as per Section 3(1)(g) of FCRA. This Section states that "no foreign contribution shall be accepted by any association or company engaged in the production or broadcast of audio news or audio-visual news or current affairs programmes through any electronic mode, or any other electronic form.."(3) The third affidavit relates to non-profits whose memorandum of association (MoA) or trust deed includes printing or publication as an object. Such entities (receiving foreign contributions) must declare that they "will not engage in any publication activity" that is covered under the definition of newspapers as per FCRA. According to Isha Sekhri, partner at Isha Sekhri Advisory LLP, FCRA unequivocally prohibits any association or company engaged in the production or broadcast of audio, audiovisual news, or current affairs programmes - regardless of the medium, whether digital, electronic, or any other form of mass communication - from receiving foreign contributions. "Although there is ongoing interpretational debate regarding the applicability of RNI registration to digital content, FCRA adopts a more expansive scope by incorporating definitions under the Information Technology Act, 2000. The recent introduction of specific affidavit requirements represents a regulatory step toward closing existing compliance gaps, with these changes being implemented right at the threshold level of the registration and approval process itself. It also places clear personal accountability on the chief functionary, marking a shift from procedural formalities to substantive legal adherence," said these affidavits, NGOs engaging in news or views would find it very difficult to claim that their publications are for 'awareness', 'research dissemination', 'advocacy' or 'community outreach' - and not 'news or views' in the statutory sense; or, avoid RNI registration, and ambiguously label their outputs as newsletters, bulletins, reports, or blogs. Also, entities confined to digital platforms (websites or YouTube channels) cannot escape the glare by claiming they are not 'newspapers' as per PRB creating a legal paper trail, the move turns the burden of proof on NGOs. The MHA spokesperson did not comment on the a media outfit must set up shop abroad to receive foreign donations. For local news media entities, foreign money can come in as minority equity capital subject to government CA Gautam Shah said FCRA provisions are being made more stringent to avoid any wrong doing. "A check list is being issued to NGOs whose registration were cancelled and are re-applying. Besides affidavits on media ownership, the CA and chief functionaries have to certify activity-wise receipts and payments, as well as income and expenditure accounts. So, NGOs must be careful in ensuring that funds received under FCRA are utilised for the purpose for which the certificate was issued."In some cases it could be a challenge for Section 8 companies following the accrual system under mercantile accounting to generate activity wise actual receipt and payment records. Under the new rules which became effective from January 2025, CAs, whose email address and few other details must be shared, have to certify whether NGOs they audit have violated any FCRA provisions.
