During a post-budget meeting with the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday, Sitharaman highlighted the need for banks to adopt “old-fashioned” methods to attract deposits through innovative and appealing schemes.

Currently, cheque clearing via the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) takes up to two working days. The RBI plans to introduce continuous clearing with 'on-realisation-settlement,' reducing the cycle to a few hours on the same day. This will expedite payments, benefiting both payers and payees, said the RBI chief.

Concerned over household savings moving towards alternative investment avenues, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday asked banks to mobilise deposits through innovative products and services by leveraging their vast branch network.

The RBI proposed creating a public repository of digital lending apps to combat unauthorised players and introduced 'Delegated Payments' in UPI, allowing users to delegate UPI transactions. They also increased the UPI tax payment limit to Rs 5 lakh and plan to speed up cheque clearing by moving to continuous clearing, reducing the cycle to hours.

The Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark repo rate at 6.50% for the ninth consecutive meeting, focusing on controlling persistent high food inflation. With inflation at 5.08%, the RBI remains vigilant to avoid economic spillovers. It retained India's GDP growth forecast at 7.2% and inflation at 4.5%, while anticipating potential policy changes by October based on economic trends.

The Reserve Bank of India retained growth and inflation projections at 7.2% and 4.5% respectively for FY 2024-25, citing improved agricultural activity, buoyant services, and positive investment trends, while acknowledging risks from geopolitical tensions and financial market volatility.

"From my experience, nobody expects the RBI to be a cheerleader. I have had no such experience," he said, responding to a query referencing a remark made by one of his predecessors in a recent book. Regarding the possibility of continuing for another term, Das mentioned his commitment to his current role, stating, "I am very focused on the current assignment and do not think of anything outside that."

The RBI stated on Monday that it is using a provisional estimate of productivity for the entire economy for the first time in FY24 based on available data. Despite the reported growth in jobs, the quality and distribution of these jobs raise concerns, especially with the formal sector employment remaining significantly low.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Das defended the monetary policy committee's (MPC) decision to maintain the 4% inflation target. He emphasized the importance of avoiding policy errors related to inflation control. Earlier this month, the MPC kept the policy interest rate unchanged at 6.5% for the eighth consecutive time, citing inflationary concerns.