“Retail Direct Scheme provides a safe, simple and direct channel for investment in Government securities,” reserve Bank of India said. “The scheme places India in the list of select countries to provide such facility.”
The scheme provides a portal to invest in Central Government Securities, Treasury Bills, State Development Loans and Sovereign Gold Bonds.
Individual investors can use the online portal to open a securities account with the RBI, bid in primary auctions, and buy and sell securities in the market. No fee will be charged for any service provided under the scheme.
Meanwhile, the new Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism currently includes three Ombudsman Schemes – Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS), Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies and Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions.
Adopting a ‘One Nation-One Ombudsman’ approach, the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme will cover all customers of banks, NBFCs and non-bank payment system participants. This will enable customers to register their grievances at a point of receipt through portal, email or physical mode at any time, without the need to identify any specific Ombudsman or Scheme.
Growing awareness, digital penetration and financial inclusion led to a rapid increase in the number of complaints against various regulated entities – from 1.64 lakh complaints in 2017-18 to 3.30 lakh complaints in 2019-20.
“RBI undertakes a thorough review of internal grievance redressal of banks and other regulated entities,” it said. “Based on its findings, a need was felt to integrate the three Ombudsman Schemes into one, simplify the scheme by covering all complaints relating to deficiency in service and centralize the receipt and initial processing of complaints to enhance process efficiency. ”