Financial awareness programme at DPS

Dimapur, February 13 (MExN): A financial awareness programme was conducted at Delhi Public School Dimapur organised by Ombudsman RBI on Monday. In his speech, the chief guest Nungtok Jamir, pro-vice chairman advised the students to see through the possibility of what they could do or be best at, before choosing a career. “To make right choices, you will need to discover what you like in your life,” he said while also urging the students to develop a curious mindset and inculcate the habit of asking questions. He encouraged the students to not give up on their dreams but “work hard or hard works.” Ombudsman RBI, Sangma enlightened the gathering on the working of the Ombudsman and also demonstrated through power-point presentation how various bank frauds were committed. He said the banking Ombudsmen in the country were appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to receive and consider complaints relating to various services rendered by the banks. He said the Ombudsmen were also empowered to levy penalty against defaulting banks. Sangma said that the Ombudsmen have a record of not keeping a complaint unresolved for more than two months. According to Sangma, 77, 000 cases were resolved in 2010 while 72,000 cases were solved in 2011. “The Ombudsmen is a prompt and inexpensive way of getting your grievances addressed,” he said. He cautioned the public against getting fooled by SMSes informing them that they have won huge amount of money. Sangma also advised bank customers to always press clear/cancel buttons on ATM keypads after using the service. Students, teachers and RBI officials attended the financial awareness programme.

The Morung Express

RBI raises bank rate to 9.5%

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday realigned the bank rate to marginal standing facility (MSF) rate in one-time technical adjustment. The bank rate now stands at 9.5 per cent as against six per cent earlier………

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WSJ Transcript of RBI Interview

Reserve Bank of India Gov. Duvvuri Subbarao sat down with The Wall Street Journal to talk about his efforts to restart India's growth engine and to fight persistent inflation. Speaking from the 18th floor of the Reserve Bank headquarters overlooking Mumbai, Mr. Subbaro touched on a range of issues, including the RBI's efforts to stabilize the plunging rupee in late 2011, his calls for cuts to government spending, and how it was difficult to increase interest rates several times over the objection of a panel of advisors. 

Follows is an edited transcript of the conversation

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RBI board meet

The Reserve Bank of India would have its board of directors meeting in Bhubaneswar on February 16, official sources said. RBI governor D Subbarao and deputy governors K C Chakrabarty, Subir Gokarn, Anand Sinha and H R Khan, among other dignitaries, are expected to participate. Subbarao is scheduled to call on chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday evening, sources added. The last RBI BoD was held in the state capital in 2005. 

TOI

E-cheques: The hi-tech way to pay

London: Traditional cheques may soon be a thing of the past. In perhaps a world’s first, a team of British researchers claims to have developed an electronic cheque which offers the advantages of the traditional system but cuts down much of the processing and transport costs to the bank. The hi-tech cheque book looks and works much the same as the one used for generations. But to write on it, one needs a digital pen which has got a tiny camera attached to it to record any strokes made against millions of tiny dots printed on the surface, say the researchers. The pen sends the details to the bank of the client via a wireless link. And as the cheques and digital pen work only with the customer’s own secure computer hub, they are said to be of no use to a thief, say the researchers. Lead researcher John Vines said the tech-cheque was developed in partnership with a group of people aged over 80. “The beauty is that it’s safe and cheap electronic transaction for banks, but it’s a physical paper-based transaction for the customer,” he was quoted by the ‘Daily Mail’ as saying. The researchers have said that they would hold talks with banks. Currently, a digital pen costs 80 pounds but this is expected to fall sharply. 

TOI

RBI to meet banks soon on issue of rising bad loans

NEW DELHI: Worried over rising bad loans in certain sectors, RBI today said it will discuss the issue with banks soon. "Stress sectors are well known, the issues which are there. But we don't think there is a great concern as of now," Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty said on the sidelines of an event here……

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Banks grapple with illegal ATM withdrawals

There appears to be a sudden rise in instances of ATM skimming. Over the past few days, a number of bank account holders in Bangalore have complained that money was illegally withdrawn from their accounts through ATMs and several have lodged police complaints……….

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Regulating the regulators: A K Bhattacharya

Nominating two ministry bureaucrats on the RBI board could give credence to the government’s penchant for playing Big Brother

…..The ostensible reason for nominating two senior finance ministry bureaucrats on the RBI board is to strengthen the coordination between the central bank and the government. However, that reason does not sound very convincing. Instead, the move seems to be yet more proof of how the government functions at its own pace, making virtually no distinction between what is necessary and what is not…….

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City of London official to meet top Indian bankers

......Key issues on the agenda will include the RBI's banking roadmap, infrastructure investment and the insurance and pensions sector. Mr Fraser said: “This visit comes at a critical time, not only for the City but for the global economy as a whole. India is a growing part of the global economy and benefits from the investment made by companies from London — and across the globe.......

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Subbarao Satisfied With Impact of Rupee Action

India's central bank is satisfied with the impact of the measures it took to stem the rupee's slide against the U.S. dollar towards the end of 2011, Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said Monday.

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INDIA: MFIS STEP UP SECURITISATION DEALS

….The reason why banks are chasing a few MFIs for securitisation deal is the recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive narrowing the scope of priority sector lending norms governing banks. RBI recently disallowed banks from classifying loans given to non banking finance companies (NBFCs), other then MFIs, as priority sector lending. As per the RBI norms, banks are required to lend 40 per cent of their adjusted net credit to the priority sector. Direct agriculture loans should constitute 18 per cent of priority sector loans for Indian banks……

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Indian MFIs have deviated from idea of micro credit: Muhammad Yunus

…."They (MFIs) moved away from the idea of micro credit. That has created all the problems," said Yunus, in a media brefing in Mumbai. "MFIs based in Andhra Pradesh have drifted from their mission…..

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Nimbus guarantee puts 3 banks under RBI lens

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is probing the role of three public sector banks (PSBs) — United Bank of India (UBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Indian Bank — for allegedly flouting norms in providing bank guarantees of R2,000 crore to Nimbus Communications against an intangible collateral, adding a fresh twist to the ongoing legal wrangle between the Indian cricket board and its estranged telecast partner...........

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Consumer confidence in financial situation up in Dec: RBI survey

...... RBI started conducting the quarterly survey on consumer confidence in 2010. According to it, the change in consumer confidence has the potential to affect real economic activities through the changes in business sentiments and the findings of the survey on confidence level of consumers can be of use for policy making purposes.

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Are RBI's remittance numbers telling the whole picture?

....... The RBI's data is, however, treated as sacrosanct with little outside scrutiny. If transparency is the best disinfectant, it is amazing just how little India is willing to carefully look at the sources of the $50 billion inflows that the RBI calls "remittances".

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Is RBI's victory in reversing rupee decline temporary?

The Reserve Bank of India's victory in reversing a sharp decline in the rupee may be short-lived and the currency will remain vulnerable unless the problems of a hefty fiscal and current account deficit are addressed………….

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Will RBI regulation prevent a gold loan bubble?

Given the scale at which the business of lending money at usurious rates against the collateral of gold is growing, RBI now seems to be worried about the possibility of a gold loan bubble building up in the system and is contemplating tighter regulation for the sector...........

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Manappuram Fin ‘will ensure' compliance with RBI norms

....To enhance governance and better manage growth to the next level, the Board also decided to constitute an independent committee under the chairmanship of Mr Jagdish Capoor (former Deputy Governor of RBI and former Chairman of HDFC Bank). This committee will review relevant aspects of operations, systems, controls and organisational structure, including Board composition and effectiveness...............

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