RBI releases Annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes, 2021-22

Annual Report of the Ombudsman Schemes for the period April 01, 2021 – March 31, 2022 was released by the Reserve Bank of India.

What are the schemes covered under the report ?

Annual Report covers the activities under the erstwhile Ombudsman Schemes which are

1.Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 (BOS)

2.Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018 (OSNBFC)

3.Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019 (OSDT) upto November 11, 2021, along with the activities under RB-IOS, 2021 since November 12, 2021.

What are the major highlights of the Annual Report of Ombudsman Scheme?

1. The volume of complaints received under the Ombudsman Schemes/ Consumer Education and Protection Cells during the year 2021-22 increased by 9.39 per cent over the previous year and stood at 4,18,184 during the reported period.
2. Of these, 3,04,496 complaints were handled by the 22 Offices of RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs)
3. Since establishment of Centralised Receipt and Processing Center (CRPC) under the RB-IOS, 2021, of the 1,49,419 complaints handled at the CRPC, 1,43,552 complaints had been disposed as at the end of March 31, 2022.
4. Complaints relating to the digital modes of payment and transactions were the highest in number, constituting 42.12 per cent of the total complaints received during the year.
5. The rate of disposal of complaints by RBIOs improved to 97.97 per cent in 2021-22 from 96.59 per cent in 2020-21.
6. Majority (63.63 per cent) of the maintainable complaints were resolved through mutual settlement /conciliation /mediation.
7. Complaints related to ATM/ debit cards were the highest at 14.65% of the total, followed by mobile/ electronic banking at 13.64%

RBI लोकपाल योजना 2021-22 की वार्षिक रिपोर्ट जारी, देखें रिपोर्ट की मुख्य विशेषताएं

Which department of RBI takes  initiatives for strengthening the grievance redress system?

Consumer Education and Protection Department (CEPD)

What are the major developments in handling complaints in FY22?

• Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme,(RB-IOS) 2021 was launched on November 12, 2021.
• The ambit of RB-IOS, 2021 was extended to include non-scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks with deposits of ₹50 Crore and above.
• Under the RB-IOS, 2021, a Centralised Receipt and Processing Center(CRPC) was established at RBI, Chandigarh to receive complaints through email/physical mode from across the country and handle the initial scrutiny and processing of these complaints before assigning the maintainable ones to ORBIOs for further redressal.
• A Contact Center to assist complainants in lodging their complaints, providing them information regarding redressal mechanism at RBI and awareness messages related to safe banking practices in ten regional languages apart from Hindi and English, was setup.
• A Nationwide Intensive Awareness Programme was launched on the World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, 2022, to strengthen the on-going financial awareness and education by the department and Ombudsman Offices.

Other Post

• General Awareness Quiz Series 2022: 8-9th January
• Once-in-a-Generation’ Bomb Cyclone Hits US
• RBI’s revised bank locker rules to be effective from 1st January 2023.
• GK Questions For GK Questions