The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has conducted 72 public consultations in various regulatory and supervisory areas over the past three years as part of expanding its public engagement, according to the RBI's annual report.

The RBI's Department of Regulation (DoR), which is entrusted with formulating guidelines for regulated entities, held 21 public consultations in 2023-24, compared to six and five in the previous two years, respectively.

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The Department for Payments and Settlements (DPSS) and the Department of Supervision (DoS) have also intensified their consultations with stakeholders this year.

The regulator has conducted public consultations in recent years to obtain feedback from the public on new and important regulatory measures, phased changes and comprehensive reviews of existing guidelines.

Between 2021 and 2024, the RBI conducted 72 public consultations across various regulatory and supervisory areas, allowing 15 to 60 days for feedback.

In the financial year 2023-24, the central bank conducted 40 public consultations, according to the RBI's annual report.

As per the Regulations Review Authority 2.0 recommendation of 2022, the RBI is making draft directions available to the public for feedback before finalising them.

Public consultations are carried out through the publication of working group reports, discussion papers and draft guidelines on the website.

The RBI also conducts internal consultations and sets up advisory committees for detailed discussions. To answer the questions of the stakeholders and ensure continuous feedback, FAQs are issued.

To address potential risks, regulatory measures for consumer loans and bank loans to NBFCs were announced on November 16, 2023.

Post-pandemic, consumer borrowing increased significantly coupled with NBFCs' increasing dependence on bank loans, raising regulatory concerns. Despite strong asset quality, regulatory intervention was deemed necessary.

The participatory approach helps identify inconsistencies, gaps and stakeholder concerns, leading to more robust regulations.

Regular interactions with stakeholders on monetary policy and other issues would further increase transparency and inclusiveness in policy-making, the report says.

The Department of Financial Supervision has also launched a series of measures in 2023-24 to strengthen on-site and off-site supervision, revise the stress testing model, and strengthen the early warning signals and fraud risk management system.

The FinTech Division expanded the scope and reach of the wholesale (CBDC-W) and retail (CBDC-R) central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot projects and launched a pilot project for a public technology platform for frictionless lending.

On September 21, 2023, the RBI issued a draft Master Direction on willful and large defaulters.

The proposed Master Direction consolidated all the directions on wilful and major defaulters and incorporated amendments based on court rulings and feedback from the Indian Bankers Association, banks and other stakeholders.

After evaluating these comments, the guidelines will be issued, the annual report states.

“The primary channel for public consultations continues to be seeking written comments/feedback on draft regulatory guidelines, while other forms of public consultations such as discussions with stakeholders and setting up of independent working groups/committees are also being used to get a holistic view of the technical and complex regulatory issues,” the RBI said, adding that the need for public consultations is also being assessed while assessing political risks.