RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India's central bank, responsible for the issue and supply of the Indian rupee and the regulation of the Indian banking system. It also manages the country's main payment systems and works to promote its economic development.

Until the Monetary Policy Committee was established in 2016, it also had full control monetary policy in India. It commenced its operations on 1 April 1935 in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The original share capital was divided into shares of 100 each fully paid. Following India's independence on 15 August 1947, the RBI was nationalised on 1 January 1949.

The overall direction of the RBI is lies with the 21-member central board of directors, composed of: the governor; four deputy governors; two finance ministry representatives (usually the Economic Affairs Secretary and the Financial Services Secretary); ten government-nominated directors; and four directors who represent local boards for Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Delhi. Each of these local boards consists of five members who represent regional interests and the interests of co-operative and indigenous banks.

It is a member bank of the Asian Clearing Union. The bank is also active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a leading member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). The bank is often referred to by the name 'Mint Street'.

The preamble of the Reserve Bank of India describes the basic functions of the reserve bank as:

"to regulate the issue of Bank notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage; to have a modern monetary policy framework to meet the challenge of an increasingly complex economy, to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth."

History

The Reserve Bank of India was established following the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934. Though privately owned initially, it was nationalised in 1949 and since then fully owned by the Government of India (GoI).

1935–1949

The Reserve Bank of India was founded on 1 April 1935 to respond to economic troubles after the First World War. RBI was conceptualised as per the guidelines,working style and outlook presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in his book titled "The Problem of Rupee - Its origin and its solutions" and presented to the Hilton Young Commission. Eventually, the Central Legislative Assembly passed these guidelines as the RBI Act 1934. Eventually, the Central Legislative Assembly passed these guidelines as the RBI Act 1934. The bank was set up based on the recommendations of the 1926 Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, also known as the Hilton–Young Commission. The original choice for the seal of RBI was the East India Company Double Mohur, with the sketch of the Lion and Palm Tree. However, it was decided to replace the lion with the tiger, the national animal of India. The Preamble of the RBI describes its basic functions to regulate the issue of banknotes, keep reserves to secure monetary stability in India, and generally to operate the currency and credit system in the best interests of the country. The Central Office of the RBI was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata) but was moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1937. The RBI also acted as Burma's (now Myanmar) central bank until April 1947 (except during the years of Japanese occupation (1942–45)), even though Burma seceded from the Indian Union in 1937. After the Partition of India in August 1947, the bank served as the central bank for Pakistan until June 1948 when the State Bank of Pakistan commenced operations. Though set up as a shareholders' bank, the RBI has been fully owned by the Government of India since its nationalisation in 1949. RBI has a monopoly of note issue.

The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 came into force in June 2000. It should improve the item in 2004–2005 (National Electronic Fund Transfer). The Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd., a merger of nine institutions, was founded in 2006 and produces banknotes and coins.

The national economy's growth rate came down to 5.8% in the last quarter of 2008–2009 and the central bank promotes the economic development.

In 2016, the Government of India amended the RBI Act to establish the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to set. This limited the role of the RBI in setting interest rates, as the MPC membership is evenly divided between members of the RBI (including the RBI governor) and independent members appointed by the government. However, in the event of a tie, the vote of the RBI governor is decisive.

In April 2018, the RBI announced that "entities regulated by RBI shall not deal with or provide services to any individual or business entities dealing with or settling virtual currencies," including Bitcoin. While the RBI later clarified that it "has not prohibited" virtual currencies, a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court of India issued a ruling on 4 March 2020 that the RBI had failed to show "at least some semblance of any damage suffered by its regulated entities" through the handling of virtual currencies to justify its decision. The court challenge was filed by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, whose members include some cryptocurrency exchanges whose businesses suffered following the RBI's 2018 order.