RBI Governor D Subbarao participates in the Mumbai Marathon 2011, in Mumbai on Sunday.

Oxford Bookstore, Delhi hosted the launch of a book, "Indian Financial System - Evolution and Outlook" by former Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mr. K.L.Khetarpaul. The book narrates the basics of finance, banking and insurance sectors - their evolution, present structure and outlook - and serves as an easy reference to understanding the complexities of today's financial environment. The book also covers the role of RBI in effectively guiding the sector. "Indian Financial System- Evolution and Outlook has been written with the intent to demystify the complexities prevalent in the financial system of India," said Mr. Khetarpaul, who has served for more than 37 years at India's most prestigious and elite financial institution, Reserve Bank of India. The launch was followed by an insightful discussion on the current scenario of the financial system and country’s monetary policies.

Conference on Payment Systems

Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest at the 7th Edition of Conference on Payment Systems on 19th January 2011 at Mumbai and make the inaugural address. Now in its 7th year, Banknet's Annual Conference on Payment Systems is the largest payments event in India and has gone from strength to strength. It has on average attracted around 300 senior executives from around the globe. Theme of Payment Conference 2011 is “Moving to next generation payment systems & solutions” and would focus on new products & initiatives which will take payments in India to the next level. An Exhibition in the pre-conference area will show case the new products & solutions. Banknet will also release at conference a social awareness Short Film/ TVC for enlightening rural & semi-urban population to open accounts in banks. This will promote the habit of savings & get them access to banking facilities, loans etc. This initiative is in line with the major financial inclusion campaign of Reserve Bank of India & Government of India. Top level executives from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Major Public Sector, Private Sector, Cooperative, Foreign Banks and Technology Vendors, Business Schools, Management Consultancies will address the Conference. Top Management Executives from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) the umbrella institution for all the retail payment systems in the country will discuss the latest initiatives like Instant Interbank Mobile Payment Service(IMPS), Centralized Mandate Management Repository System (CMMRS), IndiaPay, New Domestic POS etc. Conference will commence with a plenary session and thereafter it will be followed by specialized vertical streams on Cheques and ACH, Mobile Payments, Card Payments and conclude with a technology session.

Well organised by CAB - Conference on Microfinance

My trip to Mumbai-Pune last week to attend a Conference on Microfinance - Translating Research into Practice was a rich and memorable experience for more than one reason. I was in rural banking for nearly three decades but had never visited College of Agricultural Banking-Reserve Bank of India campus in Pune all these years. And I was attending a high level Conference on Microfinance (my current area of research interest) organised by two giant institutions - IFMR-CMF and CAB-RBI attended by Academicians, Bankers, Researchers, Consultants, NGO-Voluntary Organisations, Policy makers like RBI-NABARD-SIDBI, Insurers, Authors, and so on. The facilities in CAB campus were very well organised and delegates were well taken care of. The style in which the deliberations went on was also interesting.  Panel discussions were chaired by experts in the field and researchers began with their presentations. These researchers were bright and young Indian students having studied abroad and now taking up such studies.  Overall, it was a great congregation. - Prof Chowdari Prasad,  Dean (Planning & Development), T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal

Pay 2% commission for mobile banking transactions

Customers wanting to operate their accounts through cellphones must shell out a 2% commission to the bank, a government panel set up to frame rules for mobile banking has said. Any cellphone customer can create a ‘mobile linked no frill’ account to deposit, withdraw and transfer money, and execute the transactions through a mobile-based m-PIN system or through micro ATMs run by telecom service providers, said the inter-ministerial group’s report, which was circulated to all stakeholders, including the Reserve Bank, last week. Franchises or own outlets of telecom companies could serve as retail points for the customer. The group’s financial inclusion recommendations, which aim to link the accounts to the unique identification number, or UID, can become policy only after they have been approved by the RBI. “To promote adoption, government payments under various schemes will be directly credited to these mobile linked no-frills accounts once the citizen registers with the government agency providing such benefits,” the report adds. The report said banks, in turn, must pay the telco a minimum of Rs 2.25 per transaction or 1.4% of the total amount which should be gradually reduced to 1% over five years. And if the telco were to set up mini ATMs then banks must pay a minimum of Rs 3 per transaction or 2.25% of the amount. The tech vendor setting up the IT network linking the bank, the telecom company and the UID can be paid a maximum of Rs 1 per transaction by the bank.

Conference on Emerging Role of Banking Sector in Economic Development & Growth of Business

PHD CHAMBER has organised a conference on Emerging Role of Banking Sector in Economic Development & Growth of Business ‘An Interface between Industry and Bankers’ at  on January 17, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at  PHD House, New Delhi .    

Mr. K R Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director, Punjab National Bank

Mr. R K Dubey, Executive Director, Central Bank of India

Mr. Sandip Ghose, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India

Mr. Sunil Pant, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India

Finmin blocks PF payout @ 9.5%

The Finance Ministry has rejected the 9.5% interest pay out proposed on provident fund savings for 2010-11 saying the ‘surplus funds’ found by the PF department from its past accounts were ‘unverifiable.’   Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge had recommended raising the employees’ provident fund (EPF) rate to 9.5% in September 2010 after the PF department’s accounts revealed a surplus from the past.

UCO Bank opens ‘lockless’ branch in temple town

The United Commercial (UCO) Bank has opened the country’s first ‘lockless’ branch at Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra, even as the Centre has made hitech security mandatory for all nationalized and private sector banks. Shani Shingnapur is a small town in Ahmednagar district whose presiding deity is Lord Shani. More than 5,000 devotees visit the temple every day, while on weekends the number crosses the 1 lakh mark.  “We took note of the general belief and faith of the people. Ever since the most revered temple came into existence several years ago, the village has not witnessed a single crime. In fact, all houses in the entire village have no doors. We took the risk and started the lockless bank a week ago,” a senior bank official said. Our branch has doors, but they will never be locked. Adequate precautions are being taken for the safety of lockers and important documents,” he said, adding that the UCO branch is planning to start an ATM near the temple.  On local sentiment, Gadakh said that, by and large, it is believed that because of Lord Shani’s power, the village has not witnessed a single theft or robbery in the recent past. “People here fear that if there is a theft or robbery, then the culprit and their family have to bear the wrathof Lord Shani,” he said.  Unhappy local police officials said the branch has been started in blatant violation of norms prescribed by the Centre. “In view of increasing bank robberies, the Centre has made it mandatory for all banks to provide state-of-the art security. If a bank opens a lockless branch, then it amounts to a breach of conditions. We will take it up with the DGP and RBI,” a senior police official said.

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2011: When Mumbai ran for causes

What's your time?" that was the question on everybody's mind-athletes, corporate chiefs, celebrities and the common man alike who participated in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2011 . Although everyone was keeping a close watch on their timing, it really didn't matter in the end. What stood out were the causes for which they all ran and a sense of solidarity. In its eighth year, the event saw 38,400 participants against 22,000 in its year of inception. Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath , in her third consecutive year, clocked little over an hour to complete the dream run. She was happy to participate in the event along with her over 200 team members.

RBI panel likely to suggest capping microfinance rates

The Malegam panel set up the RBI to study the MFI business in the country following a spate of suicides in Andhra Pradesh due to harassment by loan recovery agents is likely to propose a cap on interest rates charged by these bodies in a report to be submitted on January 20.  In October, the RBI set up a sub- committee chaired by H Malegam to study issues and concerns in the microfinance sector, including the interest rates charged by them. Sources said the committee has finalised its report and is likely to propose a cap on the interest rates that these microlenders can charge from customers. The report, sources said, will be submitted to the Reserve Bank on January 20. The report is widely awaited, since the Finance Ministry is expected to draft a bill to regulate MFIs on the basis of the subcommittee's recommendations. Till now, the Finance Ministry has been opposing any cap on the interest rates charged by MFIs, saying such a move will make the business model unviable for these MFIs.