In Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaimed on the first day of April that the Reserve Bank of India had traversed a momentous span, marking 90 years since its inception.

In a gathering commemorating the 90-year milestone of the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai, PM Modi highlighted the accomplishments of the decade-long tenure of the BJP government at the Center. He asserted that the banking sector, once teetering on the brink of collapse, had now embraced profitability.

PM Modi delineated a substantial shift in the government’s approach towards the banking sector over the past decade. “Clear intentions breed sound policies, which consequently yield favorable outcomes,” he articulated.

“This transformation has been wrought because our policies, intentions, and decisions were unambiguous. Our endeavors were characterized by stability and probity. Clarity of intent begets sound policies. Sound policies beget judicious decisions. And judicious decisions, in turn, engender favorable outcomes,” he articulated. The PM also unveiled a commemorative coin to mark the 90th anniversary of RBI.

Reflecting on his participation in the RBI’s 80th anniversary celebration, the PM reminisced, “In 2014, when I participated in the event marking the completion of 80 years of the RBI, the landscape was markedly different. The entire Indian banking sector grappled with myriad issues and adversities. Doubt shrouded the stability and future trajectory of India’s banking landscape. The situation was so dire that Public Sector banks struggled to galvanize the country’s economic advancement,” he recounted.

“And today, India’s banking milieu is hailed as a robust and sustainable system globally,” he appended.

The PM elucidated that the BJP-led government at the Center had espoused a strategy centered on recognition, resolution, and recapitalization. “The government injected capital amounting to Rs. 3.5 lakh crores to ameliorate the state of Public Sector banks, implemented governance reforms. Leveraging the new frameworks of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy code, loans totaling around Rs. 3.25 lakh crores were resolved,” he added.

The event also witnessed the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

“Join us as we commemorate the 90th year of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI@90). Address by Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi and Hon’ble Finance Minister @nsitharaman. Welcome address by RBI Governor @dasshaktikanta,” RBI stated in a communication on X.

Established in 1935, RBI operates as the nation’s apex bank, in consonance with the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission and under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The operational framework of this central bank is prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (II of 1934), and it commenced operations on April 1, 1935, with Sir Osborne Smith assuming the mantle of the first Governor, entrusted with responsibilities encompassing currency issuance, banking services for financial institutions and the government, and the promotion of rural cooperatives and agricultural credit.

In 1937, the Central Office of the Reserve Bank was relocated from Kolkata to Mumbai. Over the years, the RBI’s purview has expanded to encompass monetary management, regulation and oversight of the financial landscape, management of foreign exchange, currency issuance, regulation and oversight of payment and settlement systems, and developmental initiatives.