Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch two important customer-centric initiatives by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)— the Retail Direct scheme and the Integrated Ombudsman scheme on Friday, November 12.
The much-awaited RBI Retail Direct scheme would allow the retail investors to directly invest in securities issued by the central and state government.
The users can open and maintain their government securities accounts online with the RBI for free, the central bank said.
Under this new initiative, there will be a single point of reference for the customers to file their complaints, submit documents, track the status of their complaints.
The customers would also be able to provide feedback based on their experience of using the portal, the central bank said.
The Reserve Bank of India will provide a multi-lingual toll-free phone number for all the relevant information on grievance redress. It will also provide assistance for filing complaints.
What is RBI Retail Direct Scheme?
The RBI Retail Direct Scheme is aimed at enhancing access to government securities market for retail investors.
The scheme offers retail investors a new avenue for directly investing in securities issued by the Government of India and the State Governments.
Investors will be able to easily open and maintain their government securities account online with the RBI, free of cost.
The scheme offers a portal to invest in central government securities, treasury bills, state development loans and Sovereign Gold Bonds scheme.
The RBI earlier said investors will have access to bidding in primary auctions as well as the central bank’s trading platform for government securities called Negotiated Dealing System-Order Matching Segment, or NDS-OM.
Who Can Apply ?
- Retail investors, as defined under the scheme, can register under the Scheme and maintain a RDG Account, if they have – Rupee savings bank account maintained in India, Permanent Account Number (PAN), valid email id and Registered mobile number.
- Non-Resident retail investors eligible to invest in Government Securities under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 are eligible under the scheme.
- The RDG account can be opened singly or jointly with another retail investor who meets the eligibility criteria.