In the first half of the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 (April-September 2025/H1FY25), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its ‘RBI Bulletin – November 2024’ reported a net purchase of USD 8.52 Billion in foreign currency assets as compared to USD 17.68 Billion in H1FY24.
- As of September 2024, the RBI had bought a net USD 32.27 billion, including USD 9.6 billion in September.
Key Points:
i.The RBI was a net seller of dollars in April, June, and August, but bought the highest net amount in September 2024. The rupee appreciated by 0.07% in September.
ii.RBI sold a net USD 1.5 billion in September 2023, and its net outstanding forward sales stood at USD 14.58 billion by September 2024.
iii.As of November 8, 2024, India’s foreign exchange reserves were USD 675.7 billion, down from a high of USD 705.8 billion in September.
- These reserves cover over 11 months of imports and nearly 99% of external debt.
iv.In 2024, India added USD 53.2 billion to its reserves, the second-largest increase in Asia.
RBI to Launch Affordable Cloud Platform
The RBI plans to launch its first local cloud storage service in 2025, aimed at providing affordable cloud solutions for financial institutions and competing with global providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Key Points:
i.India’s cloud services market, valued at USD 8.3 billion in 2023, is expected to grow to USD 24.2 billion by 2028.
ii.The project will be funded by the RBI’s asset development fund, which stands at USD 229.74 billion (approximately USD 2.72 billion).
iii.It will involve collaboration with Indian IT (Information Technology) firms to establish data centers in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Hyderabad, Telangana.
iv.The platform will primarily serve smaller financial institutions, offering cost-effective alternatives to international cloud services.
RBI Imposes Fine on RBL Bank for KYC Violations
The RBI in exercise of its powers conferred under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 has imposed a fine of Rs 61.40 lakh on RBL Bank Limited for failing to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
Background:
The RBI’s inspection of the bank for FY 2022-23 found non-compliance with regulations, including failure to obtain prescribed Officially Valid Documents (OVDs) for certain credit card accounts and assigning multiple Customer Identification Codes (CICs) instead of a Unique Customer Identification Code (UCIC).
- Based on these findings, RBI decided to impose a monetary penalty.
Recent Related News:
i.RBI’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) increased to 445.5 at the end of March 2024, marking a 12.6% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) increase compared to March 2023 across all parameters. It was 418.77 in September 2023 and 395.57 in March 2023.
ii.RBI issued revised instructions on Bad and Doubtful Debt Reserve (BDDR) for co-operative banks to ensure uniformity in the treatment of this reserve for prudential purposes.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Swaminathan Janakiraman, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
Establishment– 1st April 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
