DFS tightens grievance redressal oversight; banks, insurers face rankings

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance has intensified its monitoring of grievance redressal across the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector, introducing a series of measures aimed at improving accountability and customer satisfaction.

 

The department, in a statement, said that the Secretary (Financial Services) M Nagaraju has been personally reviewing 20 randomly selected public grievances every month in the presence of the chairpersons, managing directors and CEOs of the institutions concerned.

 

“This exercise has had a salutary impact and has helped build greater customer trust in the financial services sector,” DFS noted.

 

The press statement further noted that so far, 15 such review meetings have been held, covering 300 grievances to assess the quality of resolutions.

 

“Joint secretaries have also been conducting similar reviews, and based on the experience, heads of banks and financial institutions have been asked to replicate the exercise internally as a dip-stick assessment of their grievance-handling systems,” it said.

 

DFS has also completed the first round of CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System) workshops with all public sector banks for 2025, while separate sessions were conducted with PFRDA on August 4 and RBI on October 13.

 

These workshops were attended by grievance officers, senior management and ombudsmen nationwide.

 

According to the department, the interactions helped organisations “address the root causes of complaints and improve the qualitative resolution of grievances.”

 

A workshop with IRDAI and insurance company grievance officers is scheduled for December 19 in Hyderabad.

 

To strengthen customer service delivery at the branch level, all public sector banks have been directed to adopt technology-based mechanisms-- such as voice chat, email and QR codes-- to capture real-time customer feedback.

 

In a key reform introduced in June 2025, DFS began ranking public sector banks, private sector banks and public sector insurers on the basis of the quality and timeliness of grievance disposal. Officials said this ranking mechanism has pushed institutions to sharpen focus on faster turnaround time, transparent communication and enhanced customer service training.

A similar ranking framework for private insurers is under preparation.

 

Additionally, the department has launched a Financial Institutions Interaction Program from December 2025, under which meetings will be held with organisations based on grievance patterns observed on the CPGRAMS portal. NBFCs have been selected for the first round of this exercise. Reiterating its intent, the department said, “DFS remains committed to strengthening the grievance redressal ecosystem and ensuring timely, customer-friendly resolution across the financial sector.”