RBI Retail Direct Scheme will provide a safe and easy medium for investors to access govt securities: Modi
Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 12
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for channelising ordinary savings into government securities while virtually launching the ‘RBI Retail Direct Scheme’ on Friday to help retail investors access the government securities market through their savings accounts in banks.
Terming banking and insurance as exclusive clubs till six years back, the Prime Minister said this scheme was an unprecedented investment opportunity for small investors. Till now, the middle class, small traders and senior citizens – all those with small savings – could invest in government securities only through the indirect route. Investment by a big section of the population will make it easy for the government to finance the development of the nation and take a major step towards attaining the goal of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, he said.
The PM conceded that “finance talk” is usually technical. But the need of the hour is for the common man to understand such things. The common man should know, he said, that this scheme does not need fund managers. For the salaried and pensioners, there will be no need to go anywhere. A phone and Internet connection will be enough to open an eight-digit account and link it with the savings account to enable online purchase and sale of government securities.
“You know that government securities have a guaranteed settlement provision. So, small investors will get assurance of safety and good returns. The government will get the necessary resources to develop a new India,” he explained.
Turning to the second scheme — the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme – the PM said this initiative of having a unified banking grievance redressal platform is the other aspect of encouraging financial inclusion. “My clear view is that the greatest power of democracy is how strong, sensitive and proactive the grievance redressal system is. That is the biggest test of democracy.
“I have also been told that in order to check online cyber fraud, the RBI has made extensive provisions for artificial intelligence in this scheme. Better coordination between banks and investigating agencies will make the recovery of money taken out by fraud faster,” he observed.
The Prime Minister dwelt at length on his government’s initiatives in the banking sector and attacked the previous governments for trying to block financial inclusion. “All types of logic was given to stop banking and insurance from reaching the poor. It was shamelessly said that there is no branch or no staff or no Internet. There was no awareness either. Unproductive savings and informal lending was not helping in the development of the country. Pension and insurance was thought to be only for the prosperous. But now conditions are changing,’’ said the Prime Minister.
Before 2014, the banking system had been badly damaged. “Today, we all know what kind of conditions were created. What all had not happened? But in the last seven years, NPAS were transparently recognised; attention was paid to resolution and recovery, public sector banks were capitalised, and wilful defaulters were sued and their access to the market blocked. Small banks were merged to create big banks and the National Asset Reconstruction Company was set up. Cooperative banks were brought within the purview of the RBI to improve governance. All these steps have created a new confidence, a new energy returning to the banking system. Lakhs of depositors are getting confidence in the system,” said the Prime Minister.
In his opening remarks, RBI chief Shaktikanta Das said the RBI Retail Direct Scheme would enhance access to the government securities market for retail investors. Investors will be able to easily open and maintain their government securities account online with the RBI, free of cost.
The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme – will further improve the grievance redress mechanism. Its central theme of the scheme is based on ‘One Nation-One Ombudsman’ — a single point of reference for customers with grievances, he said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman drew attention to the coordination between the RBI and the Finance Ministry that ensured that time-sensitive decisions during the pandemic were not delayed. “Today the economy is reviving with gusto. The confidence in the Indian economy is growing across the globe,” she noted.
