On August 17, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) commenced its digital lending pilot project for Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit which is developed by Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly owned subsidiary of RBI.
Note: RBI announced the development of the public tech platform as a part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies released on August 10, 2023.
Purpose of the Public Tech Platform for frictionless credit:
The Public Tech Platform aims to streamline the credit provision process by effortlessly transmitting crucial digital data to lenders. It features an open architecture with open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and standards, enabling seamless connectivity for all financial sector participants in a ‘plug and play’ model.
- It enhances lending efficiency through cost reduction, quicker disbursement, and scalability.
How does the Public Tech Platform facilitate loan processing and disbursement?
Lenders usually require diverse data sets for credit approval, sourced from entities like governments, banks, and credit bureaus. This process causes delays in rule-based lending. To address this, RBI has introduced this public tech platform enabling lenders to easily access digital data, ensuring smoother credit facilitation and reducing the time it takes to process loans.
The Pilot Phase:
i.During the pilot phase, the platform concentrates on products including Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans up to Rs 1.6 lakh per borrower, Dairy Loans, unsecured MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) loans, Personal loans, and Home loans.
ii.It integrates services like Aadhaar e-KYC (Know Your Customer), land records from onboarded State Governments (Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra), satellite data, PAN validation, etc.
iii.Axis Bank announced its participation, offering KCC and unsecured MSME loans through this platform, with plans to expand based on lessons learned from the pilot.
- As a pilot, bank will offer KCC in MP and will be available to customers for upto Rs. 1.6 lakh to start with. MSME loans will be available India and will offer loans upto Rs. 10 lakh to customers.
RBI launches centralised web portal ‘UDGAM’ for Unclaimed Deposits
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das introduced a centralized web portal called “उद्गम UDGAM” (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation) to simplify the process for the public to locate their unclaimed deposits in various banks through a single platform.
- Through this portal, users can retrieve unclaimed deposit amounts or make their deposit accounts operative with their respective banks.
Note: This centralised web portal was announced as a part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated April 06, 2023.
Developers:
Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS) and participating banks have collaborated to develop this portal.
Key Points:
i.Currently, users will access the details of their unclaimed deposits in respect of seven banks presently available on the portal viz. State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Central Bank of India (CBI), Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd., South Indian Bank Ltd., DBS Bank India Ltd., Citibank N.A.
ii.The search facility for remaining banks on the portal will be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.
Recent Related News:
i.As per the article State of the Economy authored by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and other RBI officials, inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure. On the other hand, it is moderating corporate sales and holding back private investment in capacity creation.
ii.In June 2023, RBI Governor launched a financial inclusion dashboard named ‘Antardrishti (Insight)’ whic will provide the necessary insight to assess and track the development of financial inclusion by recording relevant data.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
Deputy Governors– Swaminathan Janakiraman, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
