RBI to use social media platforms to demystify banking to youths

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The Reserve Bank will soon embrace social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to de-mystify banking and its workings to the youth.

The central bank, which had run a public awareness campaign in 2017, has so far been using the media, including audio-visual and text messages (it sent 241 crore SMSes) to reach out to the public in FY19, as per the RBI annual report 2019 released Thursday.

The move to branch out to the popular platforms, which are used by the younger demography, is part of a "360 degree mass media awareness programmes" to be undertaken, the central bank said.

"Going forward, popular social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook will be used for two-way communication to ensure wider dissemination, lengthening of the life of each campaign and also to engage with the youth," it said.

It can be noted that both the RBI and the governor have separate Twitter handles.

The focus is on "two-day communication" with the public which is anchored by "transparency, timeliness and credibility", it added.

Apart from this, its department of communication will organize media workshops in regional centres and also in Mumbai and Delhi for journalists.

It can be noted that under former governor Urjit Patel, the RBI had earned criticism for not being open in its communication, while the incumbent Shaktikanta Das has made it a point to engage with every stakeholder.