Page 21 - Banking Finance September 2020

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NABARD to refinance Rs. able communities do not have access to approach may not be suitable while pre-
WASH facilities," he noted. scribing cyber security guidelines for
800-cr. loans
The funding will support eligible activities UCBs.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural such as construction, repairing, enlarg- Based on risk exposure in terms of the
Development (NABARD) announced a
ing of household toilets or converting an digital services offered by the UCBs, a
special refinance facility to support the existing toilet to an accessible family toi- differentiated tier-wise approach will be
government''s Water, Sanitisation and let, domestic water motor pump, bore followed while prescribing cyber security
Hygiene (WASH) programme.
well/ tube well, sumps, rainwater har- controls for UCBs. The Reserve banks
An amount of Rs 800 crore has been vesting structures, community water said that the approach will ensure that
earmarked for this purpose for the finan- purifier plants and waste-water systems. the UCBs with high IT penetration and
cial year 2020-21, NABARD said in a While the initiative will act as a boost to offering all payment services are brought
statement. at par with other banks having mature
the ''Swachh Bharat Mission'', it will also
NABARD will provide concessional refi- encourage rural youth, small and me- cyber security infrastructure and prac-
nance to all eligible financial institutions, dium enterprises and SHGs (Self Help tices. The Board of the UCBs will have
including commercial banks, regional Groups) to undertake commercial activi- the responsibility to implement the cyber
rural banks and cooperative banks, with ties in the sanitisation sector, the state- security controls.
a repayment period of up to 36 months. ment said. However, the cost of enhanced security
"The support will be channelised to fund may also reach to the bank customers.
WASH activities, a thrust area eligible for RBI lays down new tier- Considering that implementation of the
95 per cent refinance. The bank credit wise cyber security guide- cyber security framework would be a
will also be extended to NBFCs-MFIs ( cost-intensive process, the responsibility
Non-Banking Financial Companies- lines for implementation, monitoring, compli-
Microfinance Institutions) and other RBI laid down a set of new cyber secu- ance, and the response would have to be
MFIs (Societies, Trusts, etc)," it said. rity guidelines for urban cooperative assigned from the Board level and per-
Speaking on the new refinance product, banks, in the wake of a rising number of colate down till the end-user, RBI added.
NABARD Chairman G R Chintala said it cyber attacks in the recent past. RBI said RBI's 'Vision for Cyber Security' for UCBs
will further strengthen efforts for the that it has become essential to enhance - 2023 includes a five-pillared strategic
betterment of the rural sectors while the security posture of UCBs to prevent, approach, which are Governance Over-
supporting the government''s mission of detect, respond to, and recover from sight; Utile Technology Investment; Ap-
ensuring sustainable and healthy lifestyle cyber-attacks. The central bank further propriate Regulation and Supervision;
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. said that considering the heterogeneity Robust Collaboration; and Developing
of the UCB sector in terms of size, re- necessary IT, cyber security skills set.
"The financial institutions will be better gions, financial health, and digital depth, Meanwhile, for the UCBs with higher
placed to improve credit flow to the sani- it was recognised that a 'one size fits all' digital depth, the IT/IS Governance
tation sector in rural India where vulner-

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