The Reserve Bank of India has released the Annual Report of the Ombudsman Schemes for the period April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022. The report covers the activities under the erstwhile ombudsman schemes i.e., Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 (BOS), the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018 (OSNBFC), and the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019 (OSDT) up to November 11, 2021, along with the activities under RB-IOS, 2021 since November 12, 2021. The report also captures major developments during the year and the way forward in the area of consumer protection.The volume of complaints received under the ombudsman schemes/consumer education and protection cells during 2021-22 increased by 9.39% over the previous year and stood at 4,18,184 during the reported period.
Of these, 3,04,496 complaints were handled by the 22 offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs), including the complaints received under the three erstwhile ombudsman schemes till November 11, 2021.
Since the establishment of the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC) under the RB-IOS, 2021, of the 1,49,419 complaints handled at the CRPC, 1,43,552 complaints had been disposed of as of the end of March 31, 2022.
Complaints relating to digital modes of payment and transactions were the highest in number, constituting 42.12% of the total complaints received during the year.
The rate of disposal of complaints by RBIOs improved to 97.97% in 2021-22 from 96.59% in 2020-21.
A majority (63.63%) of the maintainable complaints were resolved through mutual settlement /conciliation /mediation.
During the year, Consumer Education and Protection Department (CEPD) undertook the following initiatives for strengthening the grievance redress system:
The RB-IOS, 2021 was launched on November 12, 2021, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ambit of RB-IOS, 2021 was extended to include non-scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks with deposits of Rs 50 crore and above. During the period April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, CEPD will work towards the following action plans: Review of the guidelines on “Strengthening of grievance redress framework for banks” issued in January 2021; extension of the RB-IOS, 2021 and Internal Ombudsman Scheme to more REs that are not covered presently; enhance the efficiency and ease of usage of CMS; and upgrade and expand the contact center.
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