Page 10 - Banking Finance September 2025

RBI CORNER

RBI Governor counters

Trump remark, says India
outpacing US in global
growth contribution

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra has as-
serted that India is making a greater
contribution to global economic Ò»©­
growth than the United States, offer-
ing a strong rebuttal to former US
President Donald Trump's "dead
economy" remark.

Speaking at the RBI headquarters,
Malhotra highlighted that India's share
in global growth stands at 18%, ex- RBI: No plans to allow corporates into banking
ceeding the US's contribution of sector
around 11%. India's GDP is projected
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed that there is no proposal to grant
to grow at 6.5% in FY25, well above
banking licences to corporate houses or their NBFCs, citing an "inherent
the IMF's 3% global average. He noted
conflict of interest" with depositors' funds. Speaking at a Financial Express
that India has averaged 7.8% annual
growth in recent years and expressed event, Malhotra reiterated that promoter shareholding in private banks will
confidence in further improvement. remain capped at 26%, in line with the Banking Regulation Act.
He emphasised the need for diversified ownership to maintain internal checks
The comments follow Trump's contro-
and balances. On monetary policy, Malhotra maintained a neutral stance,
versial statement regarding India's
stressing that future rate decisions will be "data-driven," based on inflation
energy dealings with Russia, in which
and growth projections. He acknowledged that although inflation has eased
he called India's economy "dead."
to 2.1%, policy decisions focus on 6-12 months forward-looking data.
Malhotra dismissed such criticism and
underscored India's resilience and ris- Regarding interest rate outlook, he hinted that Q4 projections may be re-
ing global stature. His comments sig- vised downward. The RBI's firm stance on corporate ownership and com-
nal confidence in the economy's trajec- mitment to prudential norms underline its efforts to preserve financial sys-
tory and India's increasing role in shap- tem integrity while balancing flexibility in monetary policy.
ing global financial trends.
Under RBI regulations, balances from duce the sizeable volume of unclaimed
RBI's UDGAM portal helps accounts that remain inactive for 10 money in the system, currently esti-
years-including savings, current, or mated at over Rs. 67,000 crore. The
8.5 lakh users trace un- matured term deposits-are transferred move is also expected to strengthen
claimed bank deposits to the Depositor Education and Aware- customer trust and transparency in
ness (DEA) Fund. UDGAM facilitates banking.
Over 8.5 lakh Indians have accessed
easier tracking and reclaiming of such
their long-forgotten bank deposits
funds by linking user details across par- RBI approves merger of
through RBI's online portal UDGAM
(Unclaimed Deposits - Gateway to Ac- ticipating banks. New India Co-op Bank
cess Information), as per data tabled The central bank has also instructed
in the Lok Sabha. The portal, launched banks to publicise lists of dormant ac- with Saraswat Bank
to aid depositors and their heirs, had counts and proactively trace customers The Reserve Bank of India has sanc-
859,683 registered users as of July 1, or their nominees. This initiative aims tioned the merger of New India Coop-
2025. to improve financial inclusion and re- erative Bank Ltd (NICBL) with

BANKING FINANCE | SEPTEMBER | 2025 | 9