Mumbai Mar 23 PTI The Reserve Bank has assigned the lead bank responsibility to Punjab National Bank PNB for the newly-created district of Meghalaya the central bank said on Wednesday The Meghalaya government in a notification on November 9 2021 had informed about formation of a new district Eastern West Khasi Hills It has been decided to assign the lead bank responsibility of the new district to Punjab National Bank the RBI said in a notification on Wednesday The newly-created district has been carved out from the erstwhile West Khasi Hills district it said The allotted district working code for Eastern West Khasi Hills is 00U There is no change in the lead bank responsibilities of the erstwhile district and of other districts in the State of Meghalaya said the notification PTI KPM MR

Mumbai Feb 23 PTI Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Patra on Wednesday said the central banks views about cryptocurrencies might have delayed the governments proposed legislation on crypto assets Emphasising that the Central Bank Digital Currency CBDC will be introduced in FY23 as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget speech Patra said India will proceed very gradually on the subject as there are concerns on privacy its impact on monetary policy formulation and energy intensity The government had plans to introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin during the Winter Session of Parliament in November-December 2021 but did not introduce it RBIs view is quite known on crypto I think it is the one of the views that has actually delayed a bill on that subject but we will engage in a fair debate on that subject and will look at all sides of the debate Patra said speaking at an event organised by the Pune International Centre The central bank is in favour of a complete ban on the speculative assets saying they hold no underlying value at all and has also called them a threat to financial stability On the CBDC Patra said there already exists such an instrument on the wholesale front but it is retail where work is required I think we will proceed very gradually We will cross the river by feeling the pebbles There are issues of privacy that are involved there are issues of monetary policy transmission that are involved There is also an issue of energy intensity of the whole process if it is on a certain kind of technology he said RBI is proceeding very very slowly on the subject and will make calibrated moves in the direction he noted A few weeks ago former RBI Governor D Subbarao had flagged concerns on privacy on the CBDC front saying the feature to check the entire movement of a single unit of the digital currency makes it susceptible to be tracked and also pointed to the absence of guardrails like a data protection law Why should RBI or the government know how much ice cream I buy every month or what luxury brands I patronise So there is a certain level of discomfort and I think if you have CBDCs you have to have very robust data protection laws which are credible not only to people within the country but also outside So data protection laws are very important in issuing CBDCs he had said In a country like India where the opposition is very vigorous there can be fake complaints or there can be a government misusing the data and covering it up So I can see a lot of political complications coming out of this the former governor had said PTI AA RAM

Mumbai Jan 28 PTI The Reserve Bank on Friday said it has imposed several restrictions on Indian Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd Lucknow including a cap of Rs 1 lakh on withdrawals The restrictions came into force from closure of business hours on January 28 2022 Friday In a statement RBI said the Lucknow-based co-operative bank will not without its prior approval grant or renew any loans and advances or make any investment In particular a sum not exceeding Rs 1 lakh of the total balance across all savings bank or current accounts or any other account of a depositor may be allowed to be withdrawn subject to certain conditions it added The central bank however added the directions should not per se be construed as a cancellation of the banking licence by the RBI The bank will continue to undertake banking business with restrictions till further notification from RBI The Reserve Bank may consider modifications of these Directions depending upon circumstances it noted The restrictions would remain in force for six months and are subject to review PTI NKD ABM ABM

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday that fair and impartial auditing is essential for a resilient economy as it instils confidence among citizens Addressing officers at the National Academy of Audit and Accounts Das said that audit is important for the country as public expenditure decisions are based on these reports Observing that there is a need to improve the quality and depth of audit he said the Reserve Bank has taken a host of steps in consultation with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ICAI for improving the audit of banks and financial institutions Listing out some of the recent measures he said risk-based internal audit system for commercial banks was strengthened in January this year Das said RBI has been stressing on a strong governance framework in banks NBFCs for building a resilient financial sector With globalisation and increasing complexities of the financial system audit as a public good has become vital for a sound stable and vibrant financial system he said He urged the auditor community to update and upgrade skills on a constant basis and perform their task in the most effective manner PTI DP CS ANS ANS

New Delhi Sept 22 PTI Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday pitched for higher investment in infrastructure and reforms in labour and product markets to achieve sustainable growth post-pandemic Addressing AIMA National Management Convention Das underlined the need for increased investment in healthcare education digital and physical infrastructure to ensure sustainable growth and generate employment opportunities Noting that the pandemic has affected the poor and the vulnerable more in emerging and developing countries Das said Our endeavour should be to ensure livable and sustainable growth in the post-pandemic future Restoring the durability of private consumption which has remained historically the mainstay of aggregate demand will be very crucial going forward More importantly sustainable growth should entail meeting on macro fundamentals via medium-term investments sound financial systems and structural reforms he said Towards this objective a big push to investment in healthcare education innovation physical and digital infrastructure will be required We should also continue with further reforms in labour and product markets to encourage competition and dynamism and to benefit from the pandemic induced opportunities he added PTI DP CS BAL BAL