Regional Rural Banks: its evolution and contribution

Regional Rural Banks were set up on the recommendations of The Narasimham Working Group in Sep 1975 and RRB act came into force in 1976. These are local level banking organizations operating in different States of India created with a view to serve primarily the rural areas of India with basic banking and financial services.  Their area of operation covers one or more districts in the State. RRBs perform a variety of functions like providing banking facilities to rural and semi-urban areas, carrying out government operations like disbursement of wages of MGNREGA workers, distribution of pensions etc., providing Para-Banking facilities like locker facilities, debit and credit cards.  The development process of RRBs started on 2 October 1975 with the forming of the first RRB, the Prathama Bank. RRBs are jointly owned by the Government of India, the concerned State government and sponsor banks, with the issued capital shared in the proportion of 50 percent, 15 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

Reforms in the RRBs

BITCOIN : Past, Present & Future

Introduction

A software developer called Satoshi Nakamoto, who resides in total anonymity, proposed bitcoin in 2008. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency (cryptocurrency), created and held electronically. No one controls it. It is both a currency, like dollars or euros or yen as well as a way of making payments, like PayPal or Visa credit card network. The idea behind the bitcoin was to produce a currency independent of any central authority, transferable electronically, more or less instantly, with very low transaction fees.

Basically, bitcoins are just long digital addresses and balances, stored in an online ledger called the "blockchain." Bitcoins can be broken into tiny pieces. Each bitcoin can be divided into one hundred million units, called Satoshis, after the currency's founder. The entry of every transaction is recorded in blockchain.

No Rate Cut

RBI governer kept key policy rate unchanged but indicated future action to support growth by stating "inflation moving closer to the target".

He expressed his hope from Unoin Budget 2016-17 to introduce some structural reforms to enable the central bank to boost with cheaper money.