Right to Information Act

RBI’s Obligation under the Act

The Reserve Bank of India is a public authority as defined in the Right to Information Act, 2005. As such, the Reserve Bank of India is obliged to provide information to members of public.

Section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information Act, 2005

Library Access

The working hours of RBI library at the central office are 9.45 am to 5.45 pm. Though it mainly caters to the RBI staff, it is also open to academics, students and researchers.

The Reserve Bank of India has an established communication policy. Under this, the Reserve Bank of India regularly releases information and data on Indian economy, banking and finance. It releases the information and data at regular periodicity – daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, six monthly and annually. In addition, it also releases information, as and when required, through occasional publications, such as, studies and reports.

The Reserve Bank also places in public domain its instructions relating to banking, finance, foreign exchange and other related subjects. Further, the Reserve Bank also disseminates information, especially of general interest, through daily press releases.

The information and data routinely released by the Reserve Bank are available on its website (www.rbi.org.in)

The details of information that is already available from the Reserve Bank of India are:

Monetary Policy Statements and Monetary Policy Reports

i) The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) constituted by the Central Government under Section 45ZB of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 determines the Policy Rate required to achieve the inflation target. The MPC meets every two months. The resolutions adopted by the MPC in its meetings are published after conclusion of the meetings as per Section 45ZK of the RBI Act, 1934. The minutes of the meetings are released on the fourteenth day after the resolutions are published as per Section 45ZL of the RBI Act, 1934.

ii) A Statement of Developmental and Regulatory Policies is also published on the same day, the resolution of the MPC is released.

iii) Once in every six-months, a document titled Monetary Policy Report (MPR) is published by the Reserve Bank under Section 45ZM of the RBI Act, 1934.

The above periodical documents are available on the RBI website at https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/Annualpolicy.aspx

Annual Report

The annual report of the Reserve Bank is the most important document released every year in late August. It is the statement of the Board of Directors on the state of the economy, the working of the Reserve Bank and on the balance sheet of the Reserve Bank. It also presents an assessment and prospects of the Indian economy.

The annual report is a statutory document relating to the financial year of the Reserve Bank (July to June) and is released in August.

Annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes

An Annual Report on the functioning of the Ombudsman Schemes is published every year by the Reserve Bank elucidating the status of complaints received against the RBI regulated entities (REs) at the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) and various other developments in the field of consumer education and protection during the year.

Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India

This is also a statutory publication produced by the central bank. Presented annually, this document is a review of the policies for and performance of the financial sector for the preceding year. The publication, covering period from April to March, is generally released around November/December.

Report on Currency and Finance

This annual document is presented by the staff of the central bank. Since 1998-99 the Report dwells on a particular theme and presents a detailed economic analysis of the issues related to the theme. While the focus of the Report is on the policy approach, issues and challenges relevant to India, the various Chapters present these developments against the recent theoretical developments and the accumulated cross-country empirical evidence. Since the publication is released around December, it also serves the purpose of presenting a mid-year review of the economy.

This publication is a major initiative by the Reserve Bank aimed at improving data dissemination by providing a useful storehouse of statistical information at one place. The publication provides time-series data (annual/quarterly/monthly/fortnightly/daily) pertaining to a broad spectrum of economic variables, including data on national income, output, prices, money, banking, financial markets, public finance, trade and balance of payments. The publication is also available in a hard copy as well as a CD-ROM format.

Also available on the RBI website is a database on Indian Economy which gives time series data on a wide range of subjects relating to India’s economy, banking and finance. This site also allows the visitor to cull out the data and use it for research.

A Study of State Budgets, this publication provides a comprehensive analytical assessment of the finances of the State Governments. Consolidated data of all State Governments are analysed in addition to State-wise analysis to draw policy implications.

Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India

This annual publication contains comprehensive data relating to the commercial banking sector. It covers balance sheet information as well as performance indicators of each commercial bank in India including those registered abroad. The data are presented bank group-wise and state-wise.

Basic Statistical Return (BSR)- 1- Credit by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) including Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) – Annual

Compile annual information on type of account, organisation, occupation /activity and category of the borrower, district, and population group of the place of utilisation of credit, rate of interest, credit limit and outstanding credit amount, based on the credit data received from all SCBs including RRBs.

Basic Statistical Return (BSR)- 2- Deposits with Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) including Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) – Annual

Collect, compile, analyse and disseminate data on type of deposits, maturity pattern of term deposits, ownership pattern of deposits as well as number of employees based on branch-wise deposits data received from all SCBs including RRBs on annual basis.

Spatial Distribution Of Deposits And Credit with Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) including Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) - Annual

In order to reduce reporting burden of banks, the quarterly publication (viz. Quarterly Statistics on Deposits and Credit of Scheduled Commercial Banks) based on BSR-7 return has been discontinued since March 2023 round. However, such information has been supplemented from annual BSR-1 and BSR-2 returns and presented in the tabular form under captioned title i.e. “Spatial Distribution Of Deposits And Credit (Annual)”

Basic Statistical Return (BSR)- 1- Credit by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) – Quarterly

Compile quarterly information on type of account, organisation, occupation /activity and category of the borrower, district, and population group of the place of utilisation of credit, rate of interest, credit limit and outstanding credit amount, based on the credit data received from all SCBs excluding RRBs.

Basic Statistical Return (BSR)- 2- Deposits with Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) – Quarterly

Collect, compile, analyse and disseminate data on type of deposits, maturity pattern of term deposits, ownership pattern of deposits as well as number of employees based on branch-wise deposits data received from all SCBs excluding RRBs on quarterly basis.

Spatial Distribution Of Deposits And Credit with Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) – Quarterly

In order to reduce reporting burden of banks, the quarterly publication (viz. Quarterly Statistics on Deposits and Credit of Scheduled Commercial Banks) based on BSR-7 return has been discontinued since March 2023 round. However, such information has been supplemented from quarterly BSR-1 and BSR-2 returns and presented in the tabular form under captioned title i.e. “Spatial Distribution Of Deposits And Credit (Quarterly)”

These tables provide data on deposits and credit of scheduled commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)) for each quarter ending in March, June, September, and December and presented in accordance with centre, state, population group, and bank group.

RBI Bulletin

This is a monthly publication released in the first week of every month. The Bulletin publishes analytical articles based on data collected by the Reserve Bank often specifically for the purpose. It carries speeches of the Governor, Deputy Governors and Executive Directors. The speeches are useful in improving the understanding of the central bank's policies. Other useful inclusions in the Bulletin are important press releases and circulars issued by different departments of the Reserve Bank and data relating to economy, finance and banking. Often, significant reports released by the Reserve Bank including the Annual Report and the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India are issued as supplements to this monthly publication.

Monetary and Credit Information Review

This is a monthly four-page periodical aimed at operational level bankers. The periodical summarises important circulars issued by the central bank during the month. It is published between 1^st and 5^th of every month.

Weekly Statistical Supplement to the RBI Bulletin

This publication presents the weekly balance sheet of the Reserve Bank and other developments relating to financial, commodity and bullion markets. This is published on every Friday at 5 pm.

The Reserve Bank releases through its daily press releases data on money market operations and reference rates for four major currencies, namely, the US Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling and the Japanese Yen. The press releases are also issued on other issues that may be of general public interest such as important banking regulations, new currency notes, rejection or cancellation of certificate of registration of non-banking finance companies, status of urban cooperative banks, etc.

Occasional Papers

This is published once in four months and carries research papers presented by the professional staff of the Reserve Bank. The publication reflects the views of the authors. The Occasional Papers are being published thrice a year from 1999 onwards.

DRG Studies

These are research studies conducted by external experts in India in collaboration with the internal staff members of the Reserve Bank. The Development Research Group is a forum that institutionalises participation of external expertise in in-house research.

Reports

Besides these, the Reserve Bank also publishes reports of committees set up by it for feedback and for wider dissemination of information.

Brochures

The Reserve Bank brings out occasional booklets to familiarise the general public about the facilities available to them mainly in the area of foreign exchange.

The Reserve Bank of India has instituted three annual lectures. Two of these commemorate past Governors of the Reserve Bank and one a noted monetary economist.

The Reserve Bank maintains an active website (URL: https://www.rbi.org.in). All the information released by the Reserve Bank is also simultaneously made available on the website in pdf and Word formats. The data are provided in excel format. The site is updated several times a day.

In keeping with its objective of bringing in greater transparency in its decision making process, the Reserve Bank is committed to releasing more and more information in public domain.

Disclosure Policy

The Reserve Bank of India also places all the information it releases in response to the requests received under the Right to information Act, 2005 on its website, if, in its view, the information could be of general public interest. Such information is furnished in this disclosure log.

If you feel that the Reserve Bank of India should release any information in addition to what it already releases, please send us your suggestions by email . If, however, you need any specific information on an ad hoc basis, you may make an application under the Right to information Act, 2005. It needs to be emphasised that this mechanism is only meant for seeking information and NOT for making complaints. The Reserve Bank of India has a separate mechanism for redressal of complaints against banks and its own departments.

The Reserve Bank of India has provided for a separate channel for lodging complaints against ‘deficiency in services’* rendered by a Regulated Entity (RE).

For complaints against a specific RE, the complainant may first lodge a written complaint with the RE. If the complaint is rejected wholly or partly by the RE, or the complainant is not satisfied with the RE’s response; or, the complainant had not received any reply within 30 days after the RE received the complaint, the complainant can lodge the complaint against the RE online on the Reserve Bank’s Complaint Management System (CMS) portal https://cms.rbi.org.in or send in physical mode to the ‘Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre’ (CRPC) set up at RBI, 4th Floor, Sector 17, Chandigarh - 160017. The complaints received are handled by the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman as provided under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021. Complaints against the REs which do not fall within the purview of the RB-IOS are handled by the Consumer Education and Protection Cells (CEPCs) of RBI.

You may visit the following links for more information:

1. The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021,

2. Addresses of RBI Ombudsmen

3. Address and contact details of CEP Cells

Further, a Contact Centre with Toll-Free number - 14448 has also been operationalized to guide / educate consumers on grievance redressal process at RBI and the process of lodging complaint, as well as guide the complainants regarding the status of their complaints already lodged with RBIOs / CEPCs. The Contact Centre is available between 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Monday through Saturday, except National Holidays) for English, Hindi and in ten Regional Languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil)

*“Deficiency in service” means a shortcoming or an inadequacy in any financial service, which the Regulated Entity is required to provide statutorily or otherwise, which may or may not result in financial loss or damage to the customer.

Any person who has a grievance against any department of the Reserve Bank may lodge his / her complaint at crpc@rbi.org.in. The complaint should contain the name and address of the complainant, the department against which the complaint is being made, and facts of the case supported by documents, if any.

Citizens of India will have to make the request for information in writing, clearly specifying the information sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The application for request should give the contact details (postal address, telephone number, fax number, email address) so that the applicants can be contacted for clarifications or the information. Since as per the Act, information can be furnished only to citizens of India, you will have to give your citizen status as well. Citizen can also lodge request through online portal by accessing the link https://rtionline.gov.in/ where the RTI fees can be paid online and the requester gets the registration number upon submission of the request and can track the application.

As per the Right to Information act 2005 and the Right to Information rules 2012 prescribed by the Government of India: a request for obtaining information under Section 6(1) of RIA needs to be accompanied by an application fee of Rs.10 by way of cash against proper receipt or by DD or bankers’ cheque payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority.

You could send your request by post accompanied by the application fee of Rs.10/- payable by demand draft or bankers’ cheque or Indian Postal Order favouring Reserve Bank of India. The fee can also be paid in cash along with the application. Citizens can also submit request through online portal by accessing the link https://rtionline.gov.in/ where the RTI fees can be paid online and upon submission of the request the requester gets the registration number and can track the application.

The details of the Nodal CPIO in the Reserve Bank of India are as under:

Shri Abhishek Kumar Sinha
Central Public Information Officer/General Manager
Human Resources Management Department
Reserve Bank of India, Central Office
Central Office Building (21^st Floor)
Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort
Mumbai-400001
Telephone No. 022-22611002

You can send your request by post/hand delivery along with the requisite RTI application fee in a valid mode of payment to the Central Public Information Officer (Nodal CPIO), Reserve Bank of India, RIA Division, Central Office Building, 21^st Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai – 400 001 or to any of the addresses given below. Citizens can also lodge request through online portal by accessing the link https://rtionline.gov.in/ where the RTI fees can be paid online and upon submission of the request the requester gets the registration number and can track the application.

Lists of CPIOs and FAA/AAA

• Lists of CPIOs, FAA/AAA and Brief Description of Departments
• RBI Ombudsman designated as CPIOs and their Addresses
• CRPC-in-Charge designated as CPIO and Address
• CAPIOs (Nodal Officers) at different Regional Offices
• CAPIOs (Nodal Officers) at different Departments

CRPC-in-Charge designated as CPIO and Address

CAPIOs (Nodal Officers) at different Departments

How long will the RBI take to provide information?

The Reserve Bank of India will, within 30 days of receipt of the application for information along with the fee, communicate to the requestor whether it can or cannot provide the information.

As per the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005, the public authority shall charge:

• Rs.2/- for each page (in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or copied;
• actual charge or cost price of a copy in larger size paper;
• actual cost or price for samples or models; and
• for inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a fee of Rs.5/- for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof )

Further, to provide information under Section 7(5) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the public authority shall charge:

• Rs. 50/- per diskette or floppy; and
• for information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or Rs. 2/- per page of photocopy for extracts from the publication

If the Reserve Bank of India has the information and can provide it to you it will, within 30 days of its receiving the application along with appropriate fees, communicate to you the cost of providing the information as prescribed under Section 7(1) of Right to Information Act.

You will get the information, once the Reserve Bank of India receives the payment towards providing the information.

The Right to Information Act, 2005 under Sections 8 and 9 exempts certain categories of information from disclosures. These include:

• Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence.

• Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;

• Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;

• Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

• Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

• Information received in confidence from foreign Government; information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;

• Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;

• Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers;

• Information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual.

Under the Right to Information Act, 2005 you have the right to appeal if you are not satisfied with the information provided by the Reserve Bank or its decision not to provide the information requested.

You can address the appeal to:

https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/Righttoinfoact.aspx#1