Consumer Education and Protection

The Reserve Bank of India had on October 07, 2025, issued the draft Reserve Bank – Ombudsman Scheme, 2025, seeking feedback from the stakeholders and the public. 2. Feedback received on the draft Scheme has been examined and necessary modifications have been suitably incorporated in the final Scheme. A statement on the feedback received for the draft Scheme and action taken is provided in the Annex.

The Reserve Bank of India had on October 07, 2025, issued the draft Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2025, seeking feedback from the stakeholders and the public. 2. Feedback received on the draft Master Direction has been examined and necessary modifications have been suitably incorporated in the final Master Direction. A statement on the feedback received for the draft Master Direction and action taken is provided in the Annex.

The Reserve Bank has released today the draft Reserve Bank - Ombudsman Scheme, 2025 (Scheme). 2. The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 launched on November 12, 2021, provides customers of Regulated Entities (REs) a speedy, cost-effective and expeditious alternate grievance redress mechanism. Based on the operational experience, stakeholder feedback, and global best practices, the Reserve Bank has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Scheme.

The Reserve Bank has released today the draft Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2025. 2. The Reserve Bank, vide Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2023 dated December 29, 2023, has institutionalized the Internal Ombudsman mechanism in various regulated entities (REs) for independent review of customer complaints that are being rejected. A holistic review of the existing instructions has been undertaken to further strengthen the functioning of the Internal Ombudsman with a view to facilitating faster and meaningful resolution of customer grievances at the level of the REs.

In pursuance of the announcement made in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated October 01, 2025, the Reserve Bank has, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, issued a Notification to bring State Co-operative Banks and Central Co-operative Banks under the ambit of the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (the Scheme), with effect from November 01, 2025.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) organised the Annual Conference of RBI Ombudsmen on March 17, 2025, in Mumbai. The theme of the Conference was “Transforming Grievance Redress: The AI Advantage”. It was attended by Managing Directors & CEOs of major banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies, Non-bank Payment System Operators, Credit Information Companies, RBI Ombudsmen and senior officials of RBI.