Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launches EASE 5.0 ‘Common reforms agenda’ for PSBs

EASE 5.0 ‘Common reforms agenda’ of EASENext program has been developed for Public Sector Banks and was launched through video-conferencing by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Reserve Bank of India launches (a) UPI for Feature Phones (UPI123pay) and (b) 24×7 Helpline for Digital Payments (DigiSaathi)

RBI launches UPI for 400 mn feature phone users to widen digital payment reach. (1) UPI123Pay – Option to make Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments for feature phone users, and (2) DigiSaathi – a 24×7 Helpline to address the queries of digital payment users across products.

THE CHANGING VISION OF THE INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY

While discussing the changing vision of the Indian Banking industry, Mr M.V.Tanksale expressed with pride that the banking industry has withstood various crises and transformed itself to meet the challenges and contribute to the economic growth of the country.

Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies

RBI has issued Statement on Development and Regulatory Policies immediately after announcing the Monetary Policy on 8th Oct 2021. This Statement sets out various developmental and regulatory policy measures relating to (i) liquidity measures; (ii) payment and settlement systems; (iii) debt management; and (iv) financial Inclusion and customer protection.

Finance Minister unveils 4th edition of Public Sector Bank Reforms Agenda – EASE 4.0 – Reviews performance of public sector banks – Announces EASE 3.0 award winners

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today on 25th August 2021 unveiled the fourth edition of the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda ‘EASE 4.0’ for 2021-22 – tech-enabled, simplified, and collaborative banking. She unveiled the annual report for the PSB Reforms Agenda EASE 3.0 for 2020-21 and participated in the awards ceremony to felicitate best performing banks on EASE 3.0 Banking Reforms Index.

PM launches digital payment solution e-RUPI

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched digital payment solution e-RUPI, a person and purpose specific digital payment solution, today via video conference. e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.

Understanding New Umbrella Entity (NUE)

To address the ‘risk concentration’ of only one platform and offer consumers more options, the RBI in 2020 invited private companies to bid for a license to set up a new platform.
• NUE (New Umbrella Entity), a digital platform which will be for-profit and be allowed to charge fees for online transactions, unlike the existing system
• The new entity or entities will be able to earn interest from the float that customers maintain in their online shopping accounts

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Crisis – All you want to know about

Lakshmi Vilas Bank is the third Bank after the PMC and Yes Bank to be placed under Moratorium in the recent times. The financial position of The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. (the bank) has undergone a steady decline with the bank incurring continuous losses over the last three years, eroding its net-worth. In absence of any viable strategic plan, declining advances and mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), the losses are expected to continue. The bank has not been able to raise adequate capital to address issues around its negative net-worth and continuing losses. Further, the bank is also experiencing continuous withdrawal of deposits and low levels of liquidity.

Loans Sourced by Banks and NBFCs over Digital Lending Platforms: Adherence to Fair Practices Code and Outsourcing Guidelines

RBI brings in norms to curb malpractices by lending apps. RBI had to bring in these norms as hundreds of lending apps have mushroomed over the past year or so. RBI has made banks or NBFCs directly responsible for the actions of the digital platforms they have tied up with. RBI said that digital platforms and lenders must make adequate efforts towards the creation of grievance redressal mechanism.