Fast Facts - Reserve Bank of India | SBI PO Prelims & Mains Preparation - Bank Exams PDF Download

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• First Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI): Osborne Smith
• First Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI):James B.Taylor
• Present Governor of RBI:  Shaktikanta Das
• Present Deputy governor of RBI: Shri T Rabi Sankar
• Established: 1st April 1935 under RBI Act 1934
• RBI Established on the recommendations of: Hilton Young Commission.
• Headquarter:  It is located in Mumbai
• Nationalization of Reserve Bank of India (RBI):  In 1949 under the Banking Regulation Act 1949
• Zonal offices of RBI Located at:  4 Places, Namely Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai & Delhi
• Total number of Regional Offices: 19
• Total number of sub-offices: 9, currently RBI has opened 2 more sub-offices at Aizwal & Imphal (Capital city of Manipur)
  Each of these local boards consists of 5 members who represent regional interests, and the interests of co-operative and indigenous banks

• Total number of Regional Offices in India:  22 mostly in the capital of the state
• The central office was initially located at:  Calcutta
• Currently, the Central office is located in: Mumbai, It was permanently moved in 1937

The composition of the Reserve Bank of India

• It has 2 Member from the Ministry of Finance
• It has 5 Local Representative in Regional Offices
• It has 10 Board of Directors

Function of RBI

• Formulates, Implements & monitors the credit policy
• It provides market stability
• It ensures the flow of credit to the productive sectors

2. Supervisory Function

• To protect depositors interests
• Provide effective customer services
• Maintain public confidence

3. The issue of Currency Notes

• RBI has the sole authority to issue currency notes in India
• They also have the power to destroy old notes
• Last time RBI launched new notes known as MG-2005 series

4. Banker’s to other Banks or Banker’s Bank

• RBI lends money to other banks in a time of need
• The other banks can borrow the money from each other or from the market, if they failed everywhere then the last option is to borrow from RBI. 
• For this specific reason, RBI is known as “Lenders of the Last Resorts”.

5. Bankers to Government

• RBI act as a banker to the Government of India & also to the governments of the constituent units of India’s federal system.
• The bank has the responsibility to transact all the banking business of the Government of India on behalf of the Government, like :
  (a) Bank accepts money on account of the government
  (b) Bank makes payments on behalf of the government, etc.

6. Custodian of Foreign Reserves

• RBI has the power of custodian regarding foreign exchange
• RBI maintains the record of all transactions done in foreign exchange, also keep an eye on CAD (Current Account Deficit)

7. Promotional Function

• RBI performs various promotional functions. 
• They actively participate in Government various initiatives like financial Inclusion, Surgical strike on Black money, etc.