RBI@90: Past 10-yr economic reforms just a ‘trailer’; still a lot to do, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the commemoration ceremony of 90 years of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Mumbai today, said reforms carried out in the last 10 years by the Modi government are just a “trailer”, and that a lot is still left to do to take India forward.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started its operations on April 1, 1935, and entered its 90th year today. "The RBI is the appropriate body for the holistic appreciation of the banking vision of Viksit Bharat," says PM Modi.

He says because of the Centre’s efforts to improve people’s lives economically, over 52 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts have been opened and over 55% of them belong to women. 7 crore farmers, fishermen and animal herders also have Kisan credit cards, he says.

The PM says the rural economy and the cooperative sector have received a huge push in the past decade. He mentioned UPI in his speech, saying the India-based platform carries out more than 1,200 crore transactions every month. The PM also talked about the work being done on Central Bank Digital Currency, saying the transformations of the past decade enabled the creation of a new banking system, economy and currency experience.

The PM says his government has worked on the strategy of “recognition, resolution and recapitalisation” by infusing capital worth ₹3.5 lakh crore to improve the condition of the public sector banks. “A capital infusion of 3.5 lakh crore was undertaken for the helping public sector banks along with many governance-related reforms. Just the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has resolved loans amounting to 3.25 lakh rupees."

Emphasising the importance of coordination of monetary and fiscal policies in the GDP and the economy of the country, the Prime Minister recalled the 80-year celebration of the RBI in 2014 and remembered the challenges and problems like non-performing assets (NPAs) and stability faced by the banking system. He said starting from there, the country has reached a point where the Indian banking system is being seen as the strong and sustainable banking system of the world.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also spoke on occasion, saying from being a central bank primarily concerned with the allocation of scarce resources during the planning period, the RBI has transitioned into being an enabler for the market economy, he says. “The Reserve Bank is constantly evaluating the emerging trends and taking necessary policy measures to remain in sync with the changing times..."

Das says the well-calibrated and coordinated monetary and fiscal policies adopted in the country went a long way in shielding our economy from these shocks and helped us to emerge even stronger than before. Our GDP growth is robust, inflation is moderating, the financial sector is stable, the external sector remains resilient, and the forex reserves are at an all-time high."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the Bank of International Settlements has highlighted the significant role played by the RBI in anchoring inflation expectations using communication policy.