Inquisitive Mind

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued draft circular on levy of foreclosure charges / pre-payment penalties on loans. What issues were observed by RBI during supervisory reviews? Divergent practices were observed amongst Regulated Entities (REs) with regard to levy of foreclosure charges / pre-payment penalties in case of loans sanctioned to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) which lead to customer grievances and disputes.  Certain REs were found to include restrictive clauses in loan contracts / agreements to deter borrowers from switching over to another lender, either for availing lower rates of interest or better terms of service. What are the draft revised guidelines on levy of foreclosure charges / pre-payment penalties on loans? The following REs shall not levy foreclosure charges / pre-payment penalties on floating rate loans – REs Loan to Purpose of loan All REs Individuals, with or without co-obligants Other than busin...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched RBIDATA Mobile App. What is RBIDATA Mobile App? RBIDATA Mobile App offers macroeconomic and financial statistics relating to the Indian economy in a user-friendly and visually engaging format. This app offers quick access to the Database on the Indian Economy (DBIE – https://data.rbi.org.in ) portal and aims to serve the researchers, students, and the general public.  The key features of the app include – Access to over 11,000 different series of economic data to give a comprehensive view of the Indian economy. Users can view time series data in graphs / charts and download data for analysis. The app includes details such as data source, unit of measurement, frequency, recent updates. Additional notes are also provided to help users understand the graphs / charts better. The ‘Popular Reports’ section features a series of frequently viewed reports. ‘Search’ option allows users to access data directly from home screen, without the need to navi...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has observed digital payments awareness week from March 10 to 16, 2025. Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) is an initiative to highlight the impact and importance of digital payments and to create awareness about safe usage of digital payment products.  Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) 2025 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has observed DPAW 2025 from March 10 to 16, 2025.  Under the mission ‘Har Payment Digital’, the theme for the current year is ‘India Pays Digitally’. This theme reflects India’s transformative journey toward a digitally empowered citizenry, with the ubiquity and convenience of digital payments. ‘Har Payment Digital’ mission RBI had launched the mission ‘Har Payment Digital’ on the occasion of the DPAW 2023. This is part of RBI’s endeavour to make every person in India a user of digital payments. Previous Digital Payments Awareness Weeks (DPAWs) Year Theme 202...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has observed financial literacy week from February 24 to 28, 2025. Financial Literacy and Financial Education Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) defines ‘financial literacy’ as a combination of financial awareness, knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial well-being.  OECD defines ‘financial education’ as the process by which financial consumers / investors improve their understanding of financial products, concepts and risks and through information, instruction and / or objective advice, develop the skills and confidence to become more aware of financial risks and opportunities, to make informed choices, to know where to go for help and to take other effective actions to improve their financial well-being. Financial Literacy Week (FLW) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been observing Financial Literacy Week (FLW) every year since 2016 to p...