RBI's innovation hub is an investment for the future: Shaktikanta Das

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) innovation hub, set up with an initial capital contribution of Rs 100 crore, to encourage and nurture innovation across the financial sector, is expected to build an ecosystem for development of prototypes, patents, proofs of concept, and promote cross thinking spanning regulatory domains, Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI, said on Thursday.

Speaking at the inauguration of Reserve Bank Inauguration Hub (RBIH), Das said, “The RBIH is an investment for the future”.

RBIH has been set up as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013, and has an independent board, with Senapathy Gopalakrishnan as the chairman and other eminent persons from industry and academia as members. RBIH's objective is to bring world class innovation in the financial sector with the underlying theme of financial inclusion. 

“With its own independent Board comprising eminent members from industry and academia, I am sure RBIH is perfectly positioned to facilitate convergence of ideas among various stakeholders”, the governor said.

He also said that the focus of RBIH should be to promote access to financial services and products for the low-income population of the country. “It should be our duty to promote such innovation that not only improves process efficiencies but also transforms the society”, he said.

RBIH has plans of identifying and mentoring start-ups having maximum potential. The hub will also collaborate with various government ministries and departments as well as academia to identify problem statements in different domains and explore potential solutions.

“RBIH should serve as a focal point for interaction among various stakeholders. It should become the epicenter for promotion and exchange of views and knowledge-sharing, while also remaining focused on delivering clear cut objectives within reasonable timelines”, Das said.