Speeches & Media Interactions

I am delighted to have been invited by the Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) to deliver the inaugural Himalaya Shumsher Memorial Lecture. I deem it as a privilege. I place on record my appreciation of the Nepal Rashtra Bank for initiating this lecture series in honour of Shri Himalaya Shumsher Rana, the first governor of NRB from1956 to 1961. He contributed immensely to the development of Nepalese monetary and financial systems. His efforts laid the foundation for many of Nepal's key financial institutions and contributed significantly to the country's economic development. Nepal and India have enjoyed a long standing relationship that goes back into history. It is not just a relationship between the two countries, it is also a close people to people relationship. The Nepal Rashtra Bank and the Reserve Bank of India also share a close relationship based on mutual co-operation.

1. Distinguished Guests, Dr R. C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General, Indian Council for Agricultural Research; Dr Sunil Gorantiwar, former Director of Research, Agricultural University , Rahuri; Principal, CAB; senior officials from Financial and Academic Institutions; colleagues from RBI; ladies and gentlemen. A very good morning to all of you.

I am happy to participate in the third annual conference of the Bretton Woods Committee’s Future of Finance Forum. The conference brings together leaders and experts from the public and private sectors, multilateral institutions and think tanks to deliberate on emerging issues, trends and technologies in the financial sector. This comprehensive horizon scanning can enrich decision making and help to fashion strategies for exploiting opportunities, managing risks and building future resilience. Against this backdrop, I propose to focus on the global financial stability landscape and the evolving balance of risks and opportunities beyond the current macro-economic environment. 

I am happy to be back at the FIBAC annual conference. This conference is special as it brings together industry leaders, financial sector players and regulators on a single platform to discuss vital issues of contemporary relevance. I would like to congratulate the FICCI and the IBA for organising this annual conference.

Namaskar! Good morning, I am honoured to be here today. This initiative by the CII – the Summit on Financing 3.0 – is perhaps the first of its kind and assumes timely significance in positioning itself as a beacon of light illuminating India’s leap towards its future. At the outset, therefore, I would like to express my deep appreciation of CII’s role in shaping India’s industrial and business landscape since 1895 as arguably the most visible business association in the country today. It is only befitting that I pay tribute to the CII’s extraordinary contributions by dwelling on our ambitions as a nation and the role of finance in actualising them.

1. Shri V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Ms. Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC TV 18, Ms. Latha Venkatesh, Executive Editor CNBC TV 18, Managing Directors & Chief Executive Officers of Banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies, leaders from the Fintech industry, distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen. A very good evening to all of you.

2. I am indeed delighted to be present here amongst you today to speak to you about the evolving banking landscape and the imperative need to build and sustain financial sector resilience if India is to achieve her aspirations of becoming a developed economy by 2047.

Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Kris Gopalakrishnan, Industry leaders, Esteemed participants, Members of the media, Ladies and Gentlemen. The Global FinTech Fest (GFF) has emerged as a flagship event, showcasing innovations, technological transformation and the spirit of collaboration in the Indian FinTech sector. Started in 2020 in the virtual mode, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with about 12,000 participants, GFF 2024 has so far seen 80,000 participants. This demonstrates not only the growing stature of this event, but also the growing prominence of India in technology driven financial innovation. The presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister in GFF 2024 inspires all of us to put in our best efforts to build a fintech ecosystem that is truly future ready.

I am very happy to participate in the 5th edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF). I would like to congratulate the organisers – NPCI, PCI and FCC1 – for bringing together diverse stakeholders from the FinTech ecosystem including FinTech innovators and companies, banks, NBFCs, regulators and others for this year’s GFF. This event has grown into a much awaited fixture in the calendar of not just the Fintech industry but also the broader technology ecosystem. 

Mr. Alejandro Lopez, President, International Association of Deposit Insurance (IADI), Dr. Eva Hupkes, Secretary General, IADI, Mr. M. Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), distinguished representatives of the IADI and the Asia Pacific Regional Committee (APRC) Secretariat, chief executive officers (CEOs) and officials of deposit insurance agencies, delegates from central banks, eminent speakers and panellists, invitees representing banks in India, and my colleagues from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), good morning to you all.

Ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning, I am happy to be here this morning and engage with you at this forum. Keeping in view the theme of the event, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss a few issues around the risk, compliance and internal audit, collectively known as assurance functions, as they help identify and manage risks for sustainable growth of financial entities. From a regulatory and supervisory perspective too, Reserve Bank attaches utmost important to the assurance function and therefore, to ensure that there is alignment between our perspectives and to communicate our expectations, we feel a continuing dialogue on this issue is extremely important.

Deputy Governor Shri Rao, Heads of Assurance functions from Urban Cooperative Banks, and my colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India. A very good morning to all of you. The Reserve Bank of India has been engaging with its supervised entities regularly over matters of governance and effectiveness of assurance functions. We have had a series of engagements with the Boards of Directors of both commercial and cooperative Banks conveying the importance of strong corporate governance and remaining vigilant to ensure the continuing stability of the financial sector. We have also been meeting the heads of assurance functions, recognising the key role these functions play in ensuring the safety and soundness of the banks and promoting regulatory compliance. Today’s conference is an extension of our efforts to engage with assurance functionaries. Assurance functions namely, the risk management, internal audit and compliance functions play a very crucial role, as guardians ensuring the bank operates safely, ethically and within regulatory and legal boundaries. Assurance functionaries, by becoming effective gatekeepers, can give the required comfort to all stakeholders that the bank is on the right track, its systems are strong, its operations are reliable, and its risks are managed effectively. As conscience keepers of the bank, they are intended to detect and prevent any deviations or build-up of any potential risks, safeguard the reputation of the bank and help uphold the trust of its customers and other stakeholders. In the ever-changing landscape of banking, new risks constantly emerge. While traditional risks like credit, market, and liquidity risks remain signifi

Deputy Governor Shri Rao, Heads of Assurance functions from Non-Banking Financial Companies, and my colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India.  A very good morning to all of you. The Reserve Bank of India has been engaging with its supervised entities regularly over matters of governance and assurance functions, conveying the importance of strong organisational governance and remaining vigilant to ensure the continued stability of the financial sector.  Assurance functions namely, the risk management, compliance and internal audit, play a very crucial role, as guardians ensuring the regulated entity operates soundly, safely, ethically and within regulatory and legal boundaries.  Today’s conference for the heads of assurance functions is an extension of our efforts, recognising the critical role these functions play in ensuring the robustness and resilience of the financial entity itself as well as the overall financial system. The role played by NBFCs in Indian financial sector has been rapidly growing and their share in the credit portfolio has significantly gone up, more so in the last three years.  Just a decade ago, in 2013, the total credit extended by NBFCs represented approximately one-sixth of the magnitude of bank credit. However, this proportion has increased to one-fourth[1], indicating a notable acceleration in credit delivery by NBFCs compared to banks.  Indeed, NBFCs have emerged as a preferred option for numerous underserved sectors, particularly small businesses and households, due to their ability to provide more feet on street and customer friendly credit solutions. Moreover, NBFCs have embraced technology in a big way to further expedite and streamline their reach and 

Smt. Divyadarshini IAS, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women; Shri Shankar Narayan, CGM, NABARD, Chennai; Shri Vasimalai, Executive Director, Dhan foundation; Convenors of SLBC, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry; Smt. Uma Sankar, Regional Director, RBI, Chennai; senior bankers; Financial Literacy Counsellors; Associates and Coordinators of Centre for Financial Literacy; Financial Literacy Community Resource Persons; ladies and gentleman, I am happy to inaugurate the Conclave on Financial Literacy at Madurai today.

1. Madurai holds an important place in the history of Tamil Nadu. The city is famous for its rich heritage, and promotion of Tamil language through “Sangams”, thereby, the city is fondly referred as “sangam valartha nagaram”.

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.

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.

Mr. Yoshiki Takeuchi, Deputy Secretary General, OECD, Ms. Mairead McGuiness, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Ms. Magda Bianco, Chair of OECD INFE and G20 GPFI, Mr. Connor Graham, youth representative from Enactus, assembled regulators from across the world, ladies and gentlemen. A very warm good morning to all of you.  It gives me immense pleasure to speak to you today on a highly relevant topic - safe banking

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.

Dr. P.G. Sankaran, Vice Chancellor, CUSAT; Dr. Jagathy Raj, Director, School of Management Studies; faculty members, students, ladies, and gentlemen, At the outset, let me thank Dr. Jagathy Raj for inviting to deliver this memorial lecture in the memory of Dr. M.V. Pylee. I cherish this gesture from my alma mater to deliver this talk and it is indeed an honour and privilege to do so. Padma Bhushan Dr. M. V. Pylee was a distinguished figure in the field of management and administration who enriched the field of management education in not only Kerala but across the country with his scholarly work. He made significant contributions to the society through his thought leadership and academic endeavour and with his enduring legacy. Dr. Pylee's leadership as a Management Guru and as the Director of the School of Management Studies, CUSAT, contributed significantly to the development of management education in Kerala. His vision and guidance helped establish several institutions as centers of excellence in management studies. Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to directly interact with Dr. Pylee as he demitted office of Director before I joined SMS, but I have benefitted from his ideals and vision, having completed my MBA from SMS in the year 1982.

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.

Ladies and Gentlemen! It’s a pleasure to be here at CII NBFC Summit 2024. At the outset, let me thank Mr. Abhimanyu Munjal, Chairman, CII National Committee on Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) for extending the invitation to me for delivering this inaugural talk at the 6th edition of the NBFC summit organised by CII. I recall that it was at this forum, in earlier speech2 at CII NBFC Summit held in October 2021, I had dwelt upon the introduction of Scale Based Regulatory (SBR) approach in the NBFC Sector. Much water has flown under the bridge since then. SBR framework has since been rolled out for the NBFC sector and NBFCs have seamlessly transitioned to the revised regulations. While I had previously discussed the detailed contours of the SBR framework, today I propose to discuss the broad regulatory approaches behind NBFC regulations, including SBR framework and then focus on few specific issues pertaining to NBFC sector.

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

Speech by Shri Swaminathan J, Deputy Governor at the Conference of Governance in Urban Co-operative Banks for UCBs in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana held in Hyderabad on January 24, 2024

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.

Director, CAFRAL, Shri B P Kanungo; Shri N S Vishwanathan former Deputy Governor RBI, Smt. Indrani Banerjee, Additional Director CAFRAL, Shri Diwakar Gupta, Senior Advisor, CAFRAL, distinguished guests from the financial fraternity; and ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be present here at this very topical Conference on Resolution of Stressed Assets and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code – the Future Road Map. The IBC notified in May 2016 introduced a comprehensive legislation that introduced a paradigm shift in the landscape of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings in India, bringing in a more structured, institutionalised and time-sensitive approach to resolving financial distress.

Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Risk Officers, Heads of Internal Audit, colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India, Ladies, and Gentlemen. A happy New Year and good afternoon to all of you. I am delighted to address you today as we gather for this inaugural conference of Heads of Assurance functions. Last year, in our engagements with the Boards of both Public and Private Sector Banks, Governor had emphasized the importance of independence of assurance functions as well as their right to constructively challenge business functions for establishing a strong compliance and risk culture.  Indeed, this conference today is a testament to the significant importance the Reserve Bank attaches to the assurance functions in the context of safeguarding financial integrity and promoting regulatory compliance.

I am very happy to be here at this Conference on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 organised by the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL). I wish to congratulate CAFRAL for taking this initiative and thank them for inviting me to this event.

I am extremely delighted to be here this morning at the Mint BFSI Summit. I would like to thank the organisers, Mint, for inviting me to this event. Incidentally, I had also participated in a similar event - Mint Annual Banking Conclave - in February 2020.

(Remarks delivered virtually by Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India – December 22, 2023 - at the 106th Annual Conference of Indian Economic Association in Delhi)

Distinguished guests, Good evening. First of all, let me thank the Indian Banking Association (IBA) and FICCI for inviting me over to deliver this address today. It’s a pleasure to be here amidst such a gathering of important stakeholders across the spectrum of our financial landscape. In a very short span of time, FIBAC has achieved a prominent status for being a premier brainstorming event on emerging themes of relevance to the financial world.

I am delighted to participate in this symposium on Indian Economy organised by the Institute of Indian Economic Studies (IIES), Tokyo. I understand this event is being organised by the IIES after a gap of 3 years due to the intervening period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year in March 2023, Prof. Sakakibara and Mr. Sugaya had visited the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai when we discussed about my participation in this symposium.  I would like to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to Prof. Sakakibara and the IIES for inviting me to participate in this event today.

I am delighted to participate in this symposium on Indian Economy organised by the Institute of Indian Economic Studies (IIES), Tokyo. I understand this event is being organised by the IIES after a gap of 3 years due to the intervening period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year in March 2023, Prof. Sakakibara and Mr. Sugaya had visited the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai when we discussed about my participation in this symposium.  I would like to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to Prof. Sakakibara and the IIES for inviting me to participate in this event today.

Good Morning to you all! I am delighted to be here again at the prestigious Annual Central Banking Seminar, a flagship event of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for which it has earned global renown. It is truly an honour to interact with central bankers from around the world, our community of tomorrow. You embody the theme of India’s G20 Presidency – Vasudhaivya Kutumbakam: the world is one family. 

The Climate is Striking Back

In my past interactions in this Seminar, I have dwelled on macroeconomic stability; price stability; exchange rate stability; financial stability – all essentially issues centered around the core competence of conservative central bankers from which we are reluctant to stray. After all, central banks stand for stability.

Ladies, gentlemen and distinguished guests, It is indeed a pleasure to be participating in this summit, a gathering that is engaged to distill the essence of responsible stewardship in the corporate world. Keeping up with the theme of this session, "The Challenge of Regulation", I will reflect a bit on the dynamic landscape of regulations and regulation making, its evolving nature and on the transformation underway in the financial sector. Later, I will also outline a few challenges and dilemmas encountered by the regulators in framing appropriate regulations to manage these transitions.

Do we need Regulations?

Many believe that minimal regulations, is the best way to foster growth of the enterprise. But history is replete with the examples of how minimal regulation coupled with lenient supervision and restrained enforcements have often led to financial crises. In fact, we would all agree that nothing could be more damaging to sustainable growth than a misfiring banking and financial sector. While in an ideal scenario, the ‘invisible hand’ would ensure that the system functions flawlessly for the greater good with minimal regulatory oversight, in reality it does not happen that way. As such, to control the irrational exuberance in the financial sector, there is need for a regulator who sets the boundaries and also enforces them for ensuring a sound and robust set of financial institutions and there by promotes financial stability.

Shri V G Sekar, Principal, College of Agricultural Banking, Heads of Priority Sector verticals of banks, Members of faculty from CAB, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning. 1. I thank CAB for inviting me today to discuss a critical topic that lies at the crossroads of financial institutions' responsibilities and our collective vision for a better, more sustainable world. I propose to briefly discuss the aspect of sustainable finance to begin with before coming to the theme of the conclave, that is Priority Sector Lending, as I believe that there is a strong interplay between these two.

I am delighted to be back at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, 2023. This event is emerging as a leading forum for well-rounded discourse on economic and other policy issues of contemporary relevance. I am sure the eminent gathering here will contribute richly to the discussions on issues and challenges that confront us today and tomorrow.