Financial Regulators in India and the Division of Functions

India’s financial system is overseen by a set of sectoral regulators operating under a coordinated architecture to ensure stability, market integrity, consumer protection, and orderly development of markets and institutions. This article outlines the key regulators and how functions are divided among them, including typical overlaps and coordination mechanisms for a banking blog context. Core…

RBI Constitution, Governance, and Evolving Mandate: An Academic Overview

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is a statutory central bank established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, entrusted with monetary authority, financial stability, currency issuance, and oversight of payment and credit systems in India within a public-law governance framework anchored in statute and subordinate regulation. Over time, major organizational and functional developments—from…

Central Banking in Contemporary India: Autonomy, Credibility, and Fiscal-Monetary challenges

Central banking remains desirable in India because it anchors price stability, safeguards financial stability, and mitigates crisis dynamics through lender-of-last-resort functions while shaping expectations in a structurally supply-sensitive economy. India’s post-2016 flexible inflation targeting (FIT) regime, CPI anchoring, and a statutory Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have institutionalized a rule-based, credible framework, improving macro predictability and…

Functions of a Central Bank: An Institutional Pillar of Monetary and Financial Stability

Central banks are among the most significant institutions in the architecture of modern economies. Their functions extend far beyond the traditional role of currency issuance, encompassing critical responsibilities in monetary policy, financial stability, economic development, and systemic regulation. By acting as banker to the government, banker to commercial banks, custodian of currency, and regulator of…

Rationale and Functions of Central Banks: Evolution of Theory and Practice

The institution of the central bank has become indispensable in modern economies, serving as the custodian of monetary stability, lender of last resort, and regulator of the financial system. Over centuries, central banks have transformed from simple issuers of currency and financiers of governments to complex institutions with wide-ranging responsibilities. Their functions now extend to…