The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notified the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2026 on 16 January 2026, replacing the 2021 scheme with the objective of further streamlining customer grievance redressal across RBI-regulated entities. The revised scheme will come into force from 1 July 2026 and reinforces the philosophy of “One Nation, One…
Overview The Basel Norms form the core of international banking regulation designed to strengthen bank capital, liquidity, leverage constraints, and market discipline to safeguard global financial stability. This article outlines Basel I–III, prudential norms, the effects of liberalization and globalization on stability, linkages to international standards and codes, and the supervisor’s role under the Basel…
Executive summary Financial stability requires a careful balance between expanding financial services and safeguarding the system against shocks, with policy frameworks aligning development, regulation, liquidity, and risk management to prevent systemic crises. This article outlines the development–stability trade-offs, key risks and early-warning signals, liquidity management foundations, supervisory approaches, and bank risk management practices in an…
Overview The Indian financial system comprises interconnected institutions, markets, instruments, and regulatory frameworks that mobilize savings, allocate capital, manage risks, and support economic development through efficient intermediation and market-based finance. Its stability and inclusiveness rely on strong, specialized regulators—RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA—coordinating prudential oversight, market conduct, and investor protection to uphold transparency and resilience…
Achieving low, stable inflation while sustaining robust, inclusive growth requires coherent use of both monetary and fiscal policies within a credible institutional framework. Monetary policy anchors price stability and expectations through interest-rate and liquidity tools, while fiscal policy shapes aggregate demand, public investment, and distributional outcomes—together determining the macroeconomic mix that minimizes sacrifice ratios over…
Fiscal policy in India encompasses government taxation, expenditure, and borrowing choices aimed at stabilizing the economy, promoting growth and equity, and allocating resources across competing priorities. It operates through constitutionally structured budgets at the Union and State levels, shaped by fiscal rules and periodic Finance Commission awards to manage vertical and horizontal imbalances. Importance of…
Credit policy sets the framework through which a financial institution originates, prices, administers, and monitors credit exposures to achieve portfolio-quality, profitability, and compliance objectives in a risk-controlled manner. In banking practice, it translates the Board-approved risk appetite into actionable standards for underwriting, concentration, pricing, collateralization, and remediation across the credit lifecycle. Objectives Theory and practice…
Monetary policy is the most critical tool available to central banks for achieving macroeconomic stability. In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) formulates and implements monetary policy to balance growth and price stability while ensuring financial stability. The process is complex as monetary policy must reconcile multiple, sometimes conflicting, objectives while operating under conditions…
Central banking plays a pivotal role in maintaining monetary stability, ensuring financial system soundness, and guiding a nation’s economy. To understand the framework of central banking and its policies, it is useful to be familiar with commonly used terminology. This glossary provides concise explanations of key central banking terms, especially relevant for the Indian context,…
India’s central bank catalyzed the development of long-term finance, rural credit, and market infrastructure by promoting specialized institutions across decades of planned development and financial sector reforms. This article profiles five seminal institutions—NABARD, IDBI, DFHI, IRBI, and UTI—framing their origins, statutory foundations, mandates, and subsequent transformations within India’s evolving financial architecture. Historical context Post-independence development…