Speeches & Media Interactions

I am delighted to be here today to convey my thoughts on the issue of statutory audit of commercial banks and AIFIs. In many ways, we, as Regulators/ Supervisors and you as Auditors, share a common goal. Auditors play a very crucial role in ensuring the health of the financial system as they assist in maintainance of regulatory oversight by ensuring that the financial statements present a true and fair picture of the affairs of the regulated entity. The statutory auditors play a significant role in maintaining stakeholder confidence in audited financial statements and this is particularly important in the case of banking industry where the entire edifice is built on ‘trust’ and the biggest external stakeholders, i.e., depositors are fragmented and unorganised. Therefore, the Reserve Bank has a strong interest in promoting sound and high quality accounting and disclosure standards for the banking and financial industry as well as in having transparent and comparable financial statements that strengthen market discipline

I am happy to inaugurate the eighteenth Statistics Day Conference of the Reserve Bank. This annual event provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the current and evolving state of statistical system. It also helps us to take stock of the refinements in application of statistical methods and technologies in the realm of public policy.

Mr. V G Sekhar, Principal, CAB, Convenors of SLBCs, my colleagues from RBI, ladies and gentlemen. A very good afternoon to you all.

1. I am delighted to address you all today, the conveners of all our SLBCs. I understand that you all had a very purposeful engagement over these two days, dwelling upon various strategies and approaches that we plan to adopt in achieving our goal of strengthening credit delivery for an inclusive and sustainable growth. Having been once the Convenor for the SLBC in Telangana in my earlier role as a commercial banker, I can first-hand attest to the immense personal satisfaction it gives to make a difference in people’s lives through the SLBC forum. Indeed, over the years SLBCs have emerged as important instruments of change by catalysing synergies among stakeholders. Through the efforts made under the aegis of SLBCs across 

I am delighted to be here to inaugurate the second edition of the global conference on financial resilience organised by the College of Supervisors (CoS) of the Reserve Bank of India. The first edition of the conference was held last year in April and I had participated in the same. Since its establishment in the year 2020, the CoS has made significant contributions to strengthen supervisory capacity of not just the Reserve Bank, but also the supervisors from a few other countries who have participated in the various programmes organised by the college. My compliments to the Team CoS for their dedication in successfully carrying forward the objectives of the organisation.

I am deeply honoured to participate in the 79th meeting of the Executive Council (EXCO) of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI). At the outset, I would like to express my profound appreciation for the IADI as a global standard-setter as well as an international forum for the cross-fertilisation of information and country experiences on practices and techniques relating to deposit insurance. The IADI is contributing significantly to building effective deposit insurance systems across the world, thereby strengthening public confidence in the banking system and ensuring financial stability.

Deputy Governor Shri Swaminathan, Executive Directors, Chairmen of the Board and ACB of ARCs, MDs & CEOs of ARCs, my colleagues from RBI, ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to be amidst you today to talk about the crucial topic of governance in ARCs. But before I address the issue of governance, let me briefly discuss the importance of credit risk management and the critical role envisaged for ARCs – both in terms of legislative intent and regulatory expectations, in India’s financial landscape.

Role of ARCs in the Stressed Asset Management

We all know that books of our financial institutions are largely susceptible to credit risk as loans and advances constitute a large proportion of the asset portfolio. The credit risk weighted assets (credit RWAs), in fact, constitute around 80 per cent of total RWAs of the banking system. Therefore, any prudential regulation to safeguard the stability of financial system must remain alive to the credit risk in the books of financial entities, banks and non-banks alike.

Deputy Governor Shri Rao, Chairpersons, members of the Board and CEOs of ARCs, my colleagues from RBI and ladies and gentlemen. A very good morning to all of you. 1. I am pleased to address you today at the inaugural conference of the Directors on the Boards of the ARCs organised by the Reserve Bank of India. The theme ‘Governance in ARCs – Towards Effective Resolutions’ holds significant importance to the Reserve Bank. As you may be aware, the RBI has been engaging with its supervised entities regularly over matters of governance and assurance conveying the importance of strong corporate governance as well as the need to remain vigilant to ensure the continued stability of the financial sector. 2. ARCs enjoy a special place in the financial eco system by being the special purpose vehicles set up to help lighten the banking system from the high value NPAs and release the management bandwidth to the lenders for continuing with their normal banking activities. ARCs are also the specialised agencies for maximising recovery and reconstruction efforts. Today’s conference for the Chairpersons, Directors and Chief Executive Officers of ARCs is also a recognition of the important role of ARCs in the banking ecosystem. 3. A perusal of the score card of ARCs during the last two decades1 throws up a mixed bag. There seem to be more missed opportunities and less than optimal performance by ARCs in fulfilling the principal mandates under the SARFAESI Act2. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to highlight certain key aspects, where I believe ARCs can deliver superior outcomes that could be beneficial t

It is my pleasure to be here at the FIMMDA-PDAI annual conference. This year (2024-25) is particularly special for the Reserve Bank. The RBI has entered its 90th year on April 1, 2024. I, therefore, thought it appropriate to dwell upon the journey of the Reserve Bank, especially in the context of its role in developing the financial markets in India in the recent period. I also propose to share some of my thoughts on the way forward.

Good Evening,

It is indeed a pleasure to be here amidst this distinguished gathering. The theme of the summit, ‘Rise of the Indian Spring’, is both contextual and inspiring, reflecting not just the rising trajectory and profile of the Indian economy, but also the sentiments prevailing within the country and across the world.

As Reserve Bank of India enters its 90th year today, April 1, 2024, it’s time to reflect upon its journey through the multitude of overlapping shocks over the last few years. The pandemic, followed by continuing geopolitical crises in several parts of the world tested the resilience of every economy, including that of India. Nevertheless, it is satisfying to note that, as a country, we’ve navigated through this period of ‘great volatility’ remarkably well.

Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, Hon’ble Finance Minister, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Hon’ble Union Ministers of State for Finance, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Distinguished invitees, Media representatives, and My colleagues from the Reserve Bank, past and present.

I am honoured to be invited to Nomura’s 40th Central Bankers Seminar. The discussions here assume topical relevance in the context of the tectonic shifts underway in the global economy that present new challenges for the conduct of central banking. Besides divergent growth pathways and the varying speeds and magnitudes of disinflation, regime shifts impart their own layers of uncertainty.

We are holding this conference of the Reserve Bank of India Ombudsmen on a very important day, namely, the World Consumer Day. This event underscores our unwavering dedication to the well-being of the consumer in the financial sector. As custodians of the financial system – whether as a regulator or regulated entities such as banks, NBFCs or other financial institutions – our success hinges not only on promoting the resilience of the system, but also significantly on the value we bring to the lives of our citizens, who form the core of the financial ecosystem. Protection of consumer interest is one of the core guiding principles of the Reserve Bank’s policies and actions. I take it that similar is the case with the regulated entities of the Reserve Bank also.

It gives me immense pleasure to be here to celebrate the Digital Payments Awareness Week organised by the Reserve Bank of India. Over the years, we have not only navigated through the fast-evolving technological innovations but also played a pivotal role, as a catalyst, in developing one of the most modern payment systems in the world, be they large value, retail or fast payments. This has been made possible by nurturing diverse payment systems in the country, namely, the bill payments, merchant payments, vendor payments, transit payments, or recurring payments.

Honourable Governors, Deputy Governors, Managing Directors, delegations from SEACEN central banks, distinguished experts, and panellists, Dr. Mangal Goswami and the SEACEN team, and my colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India.

On behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, the current Chair of the SEACEN (South East Asian Central Banks) forum, I extend a warm welcome to Governors of central banks and other delegates to this 59th SEACEN Governors’ Conference. The weather in Mumbai during this time of the year is pleasant and I hope you get some time for sightseeing. As everyone in this hall is aware, SEACEN plays a pivotal role in promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing and policy coordination among the member central banks, and thereby contributes significantly to the stability, resilience and sustainable development of the regional and the global economy.

Introduction Good morning and a warm welcome to all colleagues from central banks representing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

MDs and CEOs of Regulated Entities, Heads of Customer Service, Principal Nodal Officers, Executive Director, Shri Neeraj Nigam, Reserve Bank Ombudsmen, senior colleagues from the Reserve Bank and most importantly the key audience of our conference today, the Internal Ombudsman from Regulated Entities. A very good morning to all of you.

It gives me great pleasure to be here at Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. While the winter outside is cold, the warmth of coming together of eminent leaders and experts from diverse fields more than compensates for it. These meetings assume greater relevance when fundamental changes are taking place in a global scale that would potentially shape our common destiny. I thank the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for giving me this opportunity to speak at this event. Recent information on the global macroeconomic front has been somewhat reassuring with inflation gradually descending closer to the target, even as growth has held up better than expected. The odds of a soft landing have increased and this has enthused the financial markets. Financial conditions have eased, and markets have scaled new highs, raising concerns that they might be running ahead of themselves. At this critical juncture, certain hard facts have to be kept in mind, namely, global growth is slowing down; geopolitical situation continues to be fragile with new flash points and fear of supply chain disruptions; geo-economic fragmentation remains unabated undermining global trade; and the daunting climate related challenges are holding their ground.