Page 8 - Banking Finance June 2025

RBI CORNER

RBI Panel Proposes Ex-

tended Call Money Market
Timings, Retains G-Sec
Hours

A working group formed by the Re-
serve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested
extending trading hours in the call Ò»©­
money market to 7 pm, aiming to im-
prove flexibility in banks' balance sheet
management. Chaired by RBI Execu-
tive Director Radha Shyam Ratho, the
panel recommended retaining existing
timings for the government securities
(G-Sec) and foreign exchange markets. Poonam Gupta Joins RBI as Deputy Governor, Be-
The group also proposed aligning mar- comes Fourth Woman to Hold Post
ket repo and TREP (Tri-Party Repo)
Dr. Poonam Gupta has assumed charge as the Deputy Governor of the
trading hours until 4 pm and unifying Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with a tenure of three years or until further
TREP timings for participants using
orders. She becomes the fourth woman to be appointed to the post, follow-
Designated Settlement Banks and the ing KJ Udeshi, Shyamala Gopinath, and Usha Thorat. Gupta will oversee cru-
RBI. Another key proposal is to ad- cial departments such as Monetary Policy, Financial Markets Operations, Fi-
vance the daily Liquidity Adjustment
nancial Stability, Economic and Policy Research, and International Affairs,
Facility (LAF) auction window to 9:30 among others. Prior to this role, she served as Director General at NCAER
am-10:00 am, instead of the current
and was part of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and the 16th
10:00 am-10:30 am slot.
Finance Commission's Advisory Council.
A market participant explained that
Her previous roles include senior positions at the IMF and World Bank, as
extending call money timings would
well as teaching stints at the University of Maryland and the Delhi School of
allow banks greater flexibility in man- Economics. She has also held academic chairs at NIPFP and ICRIER, and her
aging overnight funds. The panel also
appointment marks a significant addition to RBI's leadership.
suggested allowing post-market trans-
actions in G-Secs with non-residents
Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minis- cial Technology and Allied Services
between 5 pm and 11:30 pm, to be
ter Narendra Modi, approved the ex- (IFTAS) and serves on the boards of
reported and settled accordingly.
tension as per an order dated April 21. ReBIT and the Institute for Develop-
Sankar, who previously served as Ex- ment & Research in Banking Technol-
RBI Deputy Governor T ecutive Director at the RBI, oversaw ogy (IDRBT), strengthening India's fi-
Rabi Sankar Gets One-Year critical departments including Payment nancial technology infrastructure.
and Settlement Systems, Information
Term Extension Technology, Fintech, and Risk Monitor- RBI Slaps Penalties on SBI
The government has extended the ing. He has also served as a consultant
tenure of Reserve Bank of India Deputy for the International Monetary Fund and Jana Small Finance
Governor T Rabi Sankar by one year (2005-2011), contributing to the devel- Bank for Compliance Lapses
until May 2026, marking his second opment of government bond markets The Reserve Bank of India has imposed
extension since his initial appointment and debt management practices. penalties on the State Bank of India
in May 2021.
Outside of his central banking duties, (SBI) and Jana Small Finance Bank for
The Appointments Committee of the Sankar is the Chairman of Indian Finan- regulatory violations. SBI was fined Rs

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