RBI

International Confidence In India At All-Time High: RBI Govnr

International confidence in India is at an all-time high and confidence among investors is growing, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das.

“There is growing confidence on India and I think the international confidence on India is perhaps at an all-time high,” Das told ANI, on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Speaking about RBI’s growth projection for India for 2023-24 and subsequent growth estimates put out by the National Statistical Office, the latter pegged higher than that of what RBI did, Das said, “So, when we said 7 per cent for the current year, there were a lot of opinions outside that the RBI is overprojecting.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during its December monetary policy review meeting raised its growth forecast for the current financial year by 50 basis points to 7 per cent from an earlier estimate of 6.5 per cent.

The National Statistics Office in its first advance estimates projected the country’s economy to grow 7.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24, remaining the fastest-growing major economy.

“I said that for the current financial year, RBI’s growth projection was 7 per cent. The NSO (National Statistics Office) has said 7.3 per cent. So, when we said 7 per cent for the current year, there were a lot of opinions outside that the RBI is overprojecting. But in reality, the NSO has said 7.3 per cent for the current year and for FY 2024-25, what I mentioned is that my sense is that India’s GDP growth will touch 7 per cent,” Das said.

India’s economic activity has sustained its strong momentum with both urban and rural demand supporting growth. The strong thrust by the government on capital expenditure coupled with signs of pick up in private investment and healthy aggregate demand conditions, are expected to lift the real GDP growth, Das earlier said at a Luncheon Session organized by Confederation of Indian Industry on the topic ‘High Growth, Low Risk: The India Story’ as a part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024.

He further added that amid a challenging global macroeconomic environment, India presents a picture of growth and stability.

Highlighting the reasons behind India’s emergence as the beacon of growth, Das stated that the decisive and timely monetary policy actions of the Reserve Bank of India through appropriate policy actions and liquidity measures have helped India to achieve a quick and sustained recovery.

These actions have been supplemented by structural reforms in the areas of taxation, banking, ease of doing business, and boosting physical and digital infrastructure announced by the government in the last few years, which together have boosted the medium- and long-term growth prospects of the Indian economy.

Commenting on the global headwinds, Das noted that the recent heightened uncertainty has resulted in emerging market (EM) economies being at the receiving end of excessive volatility in the US dollar and bond yields.

“In such a situation, the EM economies which have their domestic challenges cannot be held hostage to international financial cycles. EM economies have to act to safeguard their interests. Accordingly, the multilateral institutions could do well to take a more nuanced and balanced view of policy perspective of the EM economies,” he added.

On the rising prowess of India’s Fintech sector, the RBI Governor said that the Fintech ecosystem in India has tremendously improved, with the adoption rate of Fintech in India rising to 87 per cent which is well above the global average of 67 per cent. India’s Fintech market is projected to reach USD 150 billion by 2025, a significant leap from USD 50 billion in 2021, he added. (ANI)

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Reserve Bank of India

No Need To Rush To Banks For Exchanging ₹2,000 Notes: RBI

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday reiterated that Rs 2000 notes will continue to be a legal lender, after the Central bank’s announcement that the notes will be withdrawn from circulation.

He also said he doesn’t expect a rush in the branches and urged people to not rush to banks.

The Governor said the Rs 2000 note was primarily issued to replenish money, taken out from the system during the demonetisation of Rs 500 notes and Rs 1,000 notes.

Shaktikanta Das in an interaction with media persons today said that the higher value of currency was manufactured in a brief period of time to increase liquidity in the economy. He also added that Rs 2000 notes circulation came down below 50 per cent since then.

On being asked about the deadline of September 30, the governor said the deadline, given for Rs 2000 notes exchange, was decided so that it would be taken seriously.

The apex bank’s governor said that it will revisit the September deadline based on the situation.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday withdrew the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation but they will continue to remain as legal tender. It advised banks to stop issuing Rs 2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, RBI said that people would continue to be able to deposit Rs 2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch up to September 30, 2023.

The Rs 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time. (ANI)

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2000 banknotes

Rs 2,000 Notes To Remain Legal Tender Even After Sept 30

The Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes which the RBI has decided to withdraw from circulation will continue to remain legal tender even after September 30, sources informed ANI.

The central bank believes that four-month time is enough for people to exchange these notes at banks. Most of the Rs 2,000 notes that are in circulation are expected to return to banks within the given time frame of 30 September.
This is a routine exercise of RBI and people need not panic, the source added.

“Rs 2000 currency note will remain legal tender after 30th September too. RBI expects that 4 month time is enough for people to exchange notes with the banks. Most of the Rs 2000 notes that are in circulation will return to banks within the given time frame of 30th September. This is a routine exercise of RBI and people need not panic,” the source told ANI.

Meanwhile, the central bank has advised banks to stop issuing Rs 2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.

The Rs 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

The objective of introducing Rs 2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, the printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped subsequently in 2018-19, stated RBI.

About 89 per cent of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life span of four-five years.

The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as of March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of Notes in Circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8 per cent of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023.

“It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public,” RBI said Friday.

It added, “In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of Rs 2000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made upto a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023”. (ANI)

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RBI Slaps ₹3 Crore Penalty On AmazonPay

RBI Slaps ₹3 Crore Penalty On AmazonPay

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said it imposed a monetary penalty of over Rs 3 crore (3,06,66,000) on Amazon Pay (India) for non-compliance with certain provisions related to Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.

According to a statement from the central bank, the action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the entity with its customers.

Amazon Pay is the digital payment arm of e-commerce giant Amazon.

The statement said, “It was observed that the entity was non-compliant with the directions issued by RBI on KYC requirements.” It added, “Accordingly, notice was issued to the entity advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.”

The RBI statement said the penalty has been imposed in the exercise of powers vested in RBI under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. (ANI)

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RBI Projects India's GDP Growth At 6.4% For 2023-24

RBI Projects India’s GDP Growth At 6.4% For 2023-24

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected India’s real GDP growth to be at 6.4 per cent for the next financial year 2023-24.

“Broad-based credit growth, improving capacity utilisation, government’s thrust on capital spending and infrastructure should bolster investment activity,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday while announcing the monetary policy meeting outcome.
“According to our surveys, manufacturing, services and infrastructure sector firms are optimistic about the business outlook. On the other hand, protracted geopolitical tensions, tightening global financial conditions and slowing external demand may continue as downside risks to domestic output.”

The GDP projections for Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 2023-24 are estimated at 7.8 per cent, 6.2 per cent, 6.0 per cent, and 5.8 per cent, respectively, with risks, evenly balanced.

Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI decided to raise the repo rate, at which the RBI lends money to all commercial banks, by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent.

Four out of six members of MPC have decided to go ahead with this hike in the repo rate, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

The Shaktikanta Das-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) started its three-day meeting on February 6 amid the rate hiking spree that started in May last year to check inflation.

India’s retail inflation during the month of December was at 5.72 per cent, versus 5.88 per cent in November and 6.77 per cent during October.

India’s retail inflation was above RBI’s six per cent target for three consecutive quarters and had managed to fall back to the RBI’s comfort zone in November 2022.

Since May last year, the RBI has increased the short-term lending rate (repo rate) by 250 basis points, including today’s, to contain inflation, driven mainly by external factors, especially global supply chain disruptions following the Russia-Ukraine war outbreak. (ANI)

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Supreme Court Demonetization Decision

Supreme Court Upholds Govt’s 2016 Demonetization Decision

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the decision of the Central government taken in 2016 to demonetize the currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1,000 denominations.

A five-judge Constitution bench dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the Centre’s 2016 decision to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes and said the decision, being the Executive’s economic policy, cannot be reversed.

Supreme Court bench said: “There was consultation between the Centre and the RBI before demonetization. There was a reasonable nexus to bring such a measure, and we hold that the doctrine of proportionality did not hit demonetization.”

The apex court had reserved its judgments on the batch of 58 petitions on December 7.

Earlier, it had asked the Centre and Reserve Bank of India to place before it the records pertaining to the 2016 demonetization decision in a sealed envelope.

It had said that it has the power to examine the manner in which the decision for demonetization was taken adding that “the judiciary cannot fold its hands and sit just because it is an economic policy decision”.

The top court’s remarks came when the Reserve Bank of India counsel made the submission that judicial review cannot apply to economic policy decisions.

The RBI had told the apex court about the objective of the demonetization policy to curb black money and fake currencies.

Attorney General R Venkatramani had said that the economic policy of demonetization was connected to a social policy where three evils are attempted to be addressed. (ANI)

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Overseas Assets Of Indian Residents Declined

Overseas Assets Of Indian Residents Declined By $ 43.9BN During Jul-Sep 2022: RBI

Overseas financial assets of Indian residents declined by USD 43.9 billion during July-September 2022 due to a reduction in reserves assets, even as trade credit, currency and deposits, and overseas direct investment recorded an increase, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its India’s International Investment Position (IIP), September 2022 report released on Friday. The reduction in non-residents’ financial assets in India was relatively lower at USD 9.6 billion.

According to the report, net claims of non-residents in India increased by USD 34.3 billion during the second quarter (Q2) of 2022-23 and stood at USD 389.6 billion in September 2022.
The reserve assets remained the dominant component at 62.9 percent share in India’s international financial assets. It had declined by USD 56.5 billion during July-September 2022, where valuation losses accounted for a major part.

The fall in India’s foreign liabilities during Q2 of 2022-23 was attributed primarily to direct investment (net) outflows, portfolio, and other investments also recorded a marginal decline on a net basis, barring trade credit which increased by USD 5.1 billion. Variations in the exchange rate of the rupee vis-a-vis other currencies also impacted the change in liabilities, when valued in US dollar terms, it said further.

Debt and non-debt liabilities continued to have an equal share in total external liabilities. The ratio of international assets to international liabilities moderated to 68.5 percent in September 2022 from 71.5 percent a quarter ago. (ANI)

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India UAE Trade

India, UAE In Talks For Rupee-Dirham Bilateral Trade

India and UAE are in talks for a Rupee-Dirham-denominated bilateral trade, said Sunjay Sudhir, Indian Ambassador to UAE, adding that both the countries will find it beneficial.

The Ambassador said the talks started on September 1, 2022. “Both countries find this beneficial. India has shared a concept paper with UAE. Central Banks of both countries are discussing. The objective is to reduce the transaction cost,” the Indian Ambassador to UAE said.

This development followed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) announcement — a mechanism to settle payments for international trade in rupees, especially for India’s exports.

It is widely believed if the mechanism fructifies then it may go a long way in internationalizing the Indian currency rupee in the long run.

A currency can be termed “international” if it is widely accepted worldwide as a medium of exchange.

SBI Research, in a report in early July, said, an interesting development is taking place in the global currency market as there has been a significant jump in trade in oil and other commodities in currencies such as the Renminbi, Hong Kong Dollar, and Arab Emirates Dirham.

In the report, SBI Research said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should make a conscious effort to internationalise the Indian currency rupee amid disruptions in payments caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. (ANI)

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77 anniversary of Independence India Rupee

India, UAE In Talks For Rupee-Dirham Denominated Bilateral Trade

India and UAE are in talks for a Rupee-Dirham-denominated bilateral trade, said Sunjay Sudhir, Indian Ambassador to UAE, adding that both the countries will find it beneficial.

The Ambassador said the talks started on September 1, 2022.
“Both countries find this beneficial. India has shared a concept paper with UAE. Central Banks of both countries are discussing. The objective is to reduce the transaction cost,” the Indian Ambassador to UAE said.

This development followed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) announcement — a mechanism to settle payments for international trade in rupees, especially for India’s exports.

It is widely believed if the mechanism fructifies then it may go a long way in internationalizing the Indian currency rupee in the long run.

A currency can be termed “international” if it is widely accepted worldwide as a medium of exchange.

SBI Research, in a report in early July, said, an interesting development is taking place in the global currency market as there has been a significant jump in trade in oil and other commodities in currencies such as the Renminbi, Hong Kong Dollar, and Arab Emirates Dirham.

In the report, SBI Research said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should make a conscious effort to internationalise the Indian currency rupee amid disruptions in payments caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. (ANI)

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India and Singapore UPI

Soon Money Transfers Between India-Singapore Using UPI: Indian Envoy

India and Singapore have completed technical preparations to link their fast payment systems UPI and PayNow to enable fund transfers between the two countries instantaneously and at low cost, a move which is aimed at benefitting migrant workers.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have been working on linking the United Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow, a project that is expected to roll out very soon.
“Singapore wants to connect its PayNow with UPI and that project will finish sometime in the next few months when that happens anybody sitting in Singapore will be able to send money to their family members in India,” India’s High Commissioner in Singapore P Kumaran said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce the project once it is formalized, the envoy told ANI.

The remarks of India’s ambassador to the city-state came ahead of the Asean and related summits, which kicked off in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and is witnessing the participation of leaders of the 10-member regional bloc.

“For us, the practical implications sitting here is that any worker who wants to send small amounts can do so at a fraction of the money they are being charged by the standard money transfer companies. So it is going to be a big benefit to those who instead of sending money in one go can do so in small pieces and it will still cost less,” the Indian envoy to Singapore said.

PayNow is similar to India’s homegrown card payment network RuPay. Apart from this, PayNow has linkages with other countries of Asean, which makes it easier for people to buy and sell within the region.

“PayNow also has similar initiatives with other countries in Asean so when PayNow connects this side with India and that side with Asean countries they can go from India to any Asean country through Singapore. They currently have a project with the Philippines, the Indian ambassador said.

Similarly, Malaysia and Thailand have made a connection with their fast payment systems.

“Eventually we will also have added connectivity and it will reduce transaction costs of remittances,” The Indian envoy said.

Under the proposed linkage, money can be transferred from India to Singapore using mobile phone numbers and from Singapore to India using UPI virtual payment address (VPA).

Approximately there are an estimated 2 lakh workers come to Singapore to work for brief periods and they often send money back home. The UPI-PayNow especially will benefit migrant workers who typically sacrifice about 10 per cent as fees charged by banks for money transfers.

Asean comprises 10 member countries- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Asean has become the fifth-largest economic community in the world. A linkage such as the UPI-PayNow could become a model for setting up an infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and the Asean countries.

It is estimated that once the PayNow – UPI link gets accepted it will become much more widespread. A system of linking payment systems would make it easier for people to buy and sell within the region by scanning UPI-based QR (Quick Response) codes. UPI-based, Q R code based is much easier.

“Most Indian tourists who come here do not have a RuPay card and even if they have it they might have the domestic RuPay card so it is a bit complicated. So in future, we see a lot of people leaning to digitalisation not carrying a lot of cash not dependant on international credit cards which have very high fees,” the Indian High Commissioner in Singapore said.

Earlier in 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the project to link their fast payment systems targeting operationalisation by July 2022.

The new methods of cross-border payments can make money transactions between countries in the region fast and convenient and much cheaper.

Such payment connectivity collaboration in the Asean would benefit migrant workers, tourists, small businesses, and enterprises. (ANI)