2010 - A seminal year for UFA ?

Wishing you all the best for 2010. I have great hope that in 2010 we will see giant strides towards UFA. I have had the opportunity of meeting senior people in SEBI, RBI and Government and have put the items below on their radar.

The infrastructure deck and the E-NREGA/GCC note are attached. Project X is evolving so that is not attached but slide 13 was a draft letter for RBI to consider.

Draft starts

Dear Shri Bhargava,

Thank you for sharing your ideas on using innovation for customer centric universal financial access. RBI does not endorse any ideas or institutions but stands ready to work with the institutions it regulates and innovators.
As you move forward we welcome suggestions on how RBI as a regulator can help every Indian citizen and resident gain affordable and easy access to savings, borrowing and payments . We have designated xxxxxx as a single window point in RBI for you and your potential Anchor bank to facilitate a quick turnaround on finding solutions that are prudent and innovative.

Draft Ends


1. How can RBI encourage prudent customer centric innovation ?
• Is the draft letter ( slide 13, Project X deck) a good first step ?
• Is cost of exclusion higher than the cost of a policy mistake detected and rectified early ?

2. Is competition necessary for rapid inclusion ?
• Would limited banking licenses to companies like SKS and Basix help ?
• Is the lead bank concept dated and does it restrict competition ?

3. Is serving rich and poor necessary for scale ?
• Are 5% tax free interest accrued daily paid monthly mobile accounts good and will they help raise 300000 crores for priority sector lending ?
• Can they help move towards a cashless economy ?
• Can a goal of 15% unsecured profitable lending be achieved ?

4. Can E-NREGA and GCC be the killer apps that get inclusion kick started ? What about UID ?

• Is E-NREGA & GCC really a Mega Opportunity for banks ?
• Restricted accounts with no KYC could be a masterstroke and make UID rollout easier ?
• A Rs 500 credit line GCC could be great financial education for some of the poorest citizens ?

5. Feedback on the two PPT decks ( Infrastructure + Project X) and the E-NREGA & GCC note