The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Monday the formation of a 10-member panel, chaired by Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra, to benchmark its statistics against global standards, with a report due by November 2024.

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 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.

This latest jump surpasses the previous record of USD 655.82 billion set for the week ending June 7, following an earlier rise of USD 5.16 billion to USD 657.15 billion reported for the week ending July 5.

Citing a report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Modi suggested that these employment figures debunk the “fake narratives” spread by opposition parties.

India’s external debt to GDP ratio fell to 18.7% in March 2024 from 19.0% in March 2023. Despite a $39.7 billion rise in external debt to $663.8 billion, high economic growth boosted GDP, lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio.

India's current account deficit significantly declined to $23.2 billion (0.7% of GDP) in 2023-24 from $67 billion (2% of GDP) the previous year, driven by a lower merchandise trade deficit and increased net invisible receipts, with notable improvements in foreign exchange reserves, services exports, and portfolio investments, according to the RBI.

Industry experts have endorsed the Reserve Bank's proposal to establish a digital payments intelligence platform. They believe it will help reduce fraud and increase consumer confidence.

The Reserve Bank proposed a facility for automatic replenishment of UPI Lite wallets and expansion of the e-mandate framework to include recurring payments like Fastag and NCMC, aiming to promote small-value digital transactions and enhance convenience in travel-related payments.