RBI Unveils PRAVAAH Portal, Retail Direct App, And Fintech Repository For Enhanced Public Access

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India launched three major initiatives, namely the PRAVAAH portal, the Retail Direct Mobile App, and a FinTech Repository, to facilitate individuals and entities reaching out to the apex bank.

Pravaah App

The PRAVAAH (Platform for Regulatory Application, Validation, and Authorization) 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 authorization, 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.

Retail App

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 opening 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 G-Secs 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 the App Store for iOS.

The Fintech Repository will contain information on the Indian fintech sector for a better understanding of the sector from a regulatory perspective and facilitate the design of 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 initiatives in its bi-monthly statement on development and regulatory policies in April 2023, April 2024, and December 2023, respectively.

Published on: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 08:10 AM IST