It also covers pension reforms and industrial finance and micro, small and medium
      enterprise. It startedthe Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Pension Fund Regulatory and
      Development Authority (PFRDA) is a statutory body which also works under this Department.
      Relevant Website: www.financialservices.gov.in
      Reserve Bank of India
            The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central banking institution, which controls the
      monetary policy of the Indian rupee. It commenced its operations on April 1, 1935 in accordance
      with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Following India’s independence on 15 August 1947,
      the RBI was nationalised on 1 January 1949.
            The RBI has four zonal offices at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. It has 21 regional
      offices and 11 sub-offices throughout India. Regional offices are located in Ahmedabad,
      Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur,
      Jammu, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Dewas, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Dehradun and
      Thiruvananthapuram and sub-offices are at Agartala, Aizawal, Dehradun, Gangtok, Imphal,
      Panaji, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla and Srinagar.
            As the central bank of India, RBI is an independent apex monetary authority which
      regulates banks and provides important financial services like storing of foreign exchange
      reserves, control of inflation, monetary policy report. A central bank is known by different
      names in different countries. The functions of a central bank vary from country to country and
      functions as autonomous or quasi-autonomous body. A central bank is a vital financial apex
      institution of an economy and the key objects of central banks may differ from country to
      country, still they perform activities and functions with the goal of maintaining economic
      stability and growth of an economy.
            The RBI plays an important part in the development strategy of the country. It is a member
      bank of the Asian Clearing Union. The general superintendence and direction of the RBI is
      entrusted with the 21-member central board of directors which has: the governor; four deputy
      governors; two finance ministry representatives; ten government-nominated directors to
      represent important elements of India’s economy; and four directors to represent local boards
      headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi.
            The central bank executes many functions such as overseeing monetary policy, issuing
      currency, managing foreign exchange, working as a bank for government and as a banker of
      scheduled commercial banks. It also works for overall economic growth of the country. The
      primary objective of RBI is to undertake consolidated supervision of the financial sector
      comprising commercial banks, financial institutions and non-banking finance companies.
            Payment and settlement systems play an important role in improving overall economic
      efficiency. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007 (PSS Act) gives the Reserve Bank
      oversight authority, including regulation and supervision, for the payment and settlement
      systems in the country. In this role, the RBI focuses on the development and functioning of safe,
      secure and efficient payment and settlement mechanisms. Two payment systems National
      Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) allow individuals,
      companies and firms to transfer funds from one bank to another. These facilities can only be
      used for transferring money within the country. With increasing integration of the Indian
      economy with the global economy arising from greater trade and capital flows, the foreign