RBI unveils PRAVAAH portal, retail direct app, and fintech repository for enhanced public access
May 28, 2024
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] May 28, : The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday launched three major initiatives namely the PRAVAAH portal, the Retail Direct Mobile App and a FinTech Repository to facilitate individuals and entities to reach out to the apex bank.
The PRAVAAH (Platform for Regulatory Application, Validation and Authorisation) portal will allow any individual or entity to easily apply online for various regulatory approvals, the RBI said in a notification.
The notification further explained that the PRAVAAH portal is a secure and centralised web-based portal for any individual or entity to seek authorisation, license or regulatory approval on any reference made by it to the Reserve Bank.
The portal will improve the efficiency of the RBI's regulatory approval and clearance processes, it said.
The Retail Direct Mobile App offers retail investors easy access to the platform and facilitates transactions in government securities (G-Secs).
The retail direct portal was launched in November 2021 to facilitate retail investors to open their Retail Direct Gilt accounts with the Reserve Bank of India under the Retail Direct Scheme.
A gilt account is a savings account that holds government securities (G-Secs) rather than cash.
The scheme allows retail investors to buy G-Secs in the primary auctions as well as buy and sell GSecs in the secondary market.
After the launch of the Retail Direct Mobile App, retail investors can now transact in G-Secs using the mobile app on their smartphones. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Play Store for Android users and App Store for iO.
While the Fintech Repository, will contain information on Indian fintech sector for a better understanding of the sector from a regulatory perspective and facilitate in designing appropriate policy approaches, the notification added.
The RBI has also launched a related repository for only RBI regulated entities (banks and NBFCs) on their adoption of emerging technologies (like AI, ML, Cloud Computing, DLT, Quantum, etc.,), called EmTech Repository.
The repository would provide access to aggregate sectoral data, trends, and analytics for policymakers and industry participants, the release further added.
The RBI had announced these three innitiatives in its bi-monthly statement on development and regulatory policies in April 2023, April 2024 and December 2023 respectively.
