The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for the first time, shared its Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to ensure zero disruptions in the national payments systems (NPS) due to the coronavirus outbreak. The national payment system includes National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), e-Kuber for government transactions, etc.
- BCP is basically a recovery plan or process to prepare for anticipated disruptions, ensure smooth flow of operations and staffing, and form crisis management groups.
- The current BCP is also focused on keeping the banking staff insulated from exposure to the virus.
Key Points of RBI BCP Plan amid COVID-19:
-To ensure continuity of all major functions of the financial system to individuals, businesses and governments under all circumstances.
-In this regard, RBI has created a team of 37 officials comprising key personnel from debt management, reserve management, monetary operations, and 113 officials from service providers.
-The team is relocatedto a hotel near the primary data centre (DC). RBI’s DC runs
-RBI has also mandated other banks to initiate BCPs to prevent any disruptions of services.
-A Quick Response Team may be constituted which provide regular updates to the top management on significant business and social developments and act as a single point of contact with regulators/outside institutions/agencies.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan (will retire on March 31, 2020), Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra).
