CHAPTER XI GOVERNANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES AND ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT - Revision

RBI Annual Report 2025-26

CHAPTER XI
GOVERNANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES AND ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT

PART 1: COMPLETE REVISION NOTE

1. Chapter at a Glance

Chapter XI reviews RBI's organisational functioning across governance, human resource development, enterprise risk management, internal audit, corporate strategy and budgeting, Rajbhasha and premises. The central themes in 2025-26 were capacity building, employee engagement, stronger risk governance, audit automation, business continuity, formulation of Utkarsh 2029, Hindi-language implementation and greener physical infrastructure.

• Utkarsh 2029 is RBI's medium-term strategy framework for April 2026-March 2029. Utkarsh 2.0 covered January 2023-December 2025.

• ERM Framework 2.0 was rolled out as a roadmap for the next decade. An internal Working Group also examined AI/ML adoption in internal audit.

• Audit processes were fully automated through the Audit Management System. HRMD focused on structured training, skill upgradation, employee engagement and well-being.

• Premises initiatives combined infrastructure development with green-energy targets.

EXAM ALERT: Remember the framework periods: Utkarsh 2.0 = Jan 2023-Dec 2025; Utkarsh 2029 = Apr 2026-Mar 2029.

2. Governance Structure

The Central Board of Directors governs RBI under the RBI Act, 1934. It comprises the Governor as Chairperson, Deputy Governors and Directors nominated by the Central Government. The Board is assisted by the Committee of the Central Board (CCB) and Board for Financial Supervision (BFS), both headed by the Governor, and by specialised sub-committees including ARMS, HRM-SC, B-SC, IT-SC and S-SC.

• 2025-26: Central Board held 8 meetings. CCB held 46 meetings, including 34 e-meetings. CCB handles current business, including approval of the Weekly Statement of Affairs.

• A Standing Committee of the Central Board, comprising three non-official Directors, functioned in lieu of the Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern Area Local Boards. It held two meetings for each area.

• M. Rajeshwar Rao relinquished charge as Deputy Governor on October 8, 2025. T. Rabi Sankar relinquished charge on May 2, 2026.

• Shirish Chandra Murmu was appointed Deputy Governor for 3 years from joining/until further orders, whichever earlier, and assumed office October 9, 2025. Rohit Jain was appointed Deputy Governor for 3 years and assumed office May 4, 2026.

• Anuradha Thakur, Secretary DEA, Ministry of Finance, was nominated as Director under Section 8(1)(d) of the RBI Act, 1934, vice Ajay Seth, effective July 24, 2025.

• Executive Director changes: Jayant Kumar Dash superannuated June 30, 2025; Aviral Jain November 28, 2025; Rajiv Ranjan voluntarily retired September 4, 2025. Sanjay Kumar Hansda, Kesavan Ramachandran, Sonali Sen Gupta, Usha Janakiraman and Gunveer Singh were promoted as EDs effective March 3, July 1, October 9, December 1, 2025 and May 18, 2026 respectively.

EXAM ALERT: Governance numbers: Central Board 8 meetings; CCB 46, of which 34 were e-meetings.

3. Human Resource Development Initiatives

HRMD's objective is to create an enabling environment for an innovative and skilled workforce. The 2025-26 agenda focused on identification and analysis of skill gaps and integration of MOOCs into RBI's training and development ecosystem under Utkarsh 2.0.

• Skill-gap Committee submitted its report; recommendations are under consideration. Pilot phases of MOOCs were successfully completed and full-scale implementation is underway.

• RBI training establishments: RBSC Chennai, CAB Pune, CoS Mumbai, ECCTI Bhubaneswar and four ZTCs at Mumbai (Belapur), New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

• Training formats include training programmes, workshops, seminars, conferences, leadership development, emotional intelligence and curated economics/finance programmes.

• 2025-26 in-house training: RBSC 109 programmes/2,845 participants; CoS 79/3,287; CAB 241/41,349; ECCTI 23/652; ZTC Class I 82/2,077; ZTC Class III 111/2,721; ZTC Class IV 27/513.

• External institutions: officers trained in India 650 and abroad 582 in 2025-26. Of those abroad, 64 were online according to the table note.

• Study leave: 17 officers availed study leave for higher studies, 9 overseas.

• Grants/endowments: ₹33.7 crore to IGIDR; ₹18.6 crore to CAFRAL; ₹4.2 crore to NIBM; ₹0.95 crore to LSE India Observatory and IG Patel Chair.

• Industrial relations: 14 meetings with central units of recognised Associations/Federations. Pay revision of all employees completed; revised pay and pension/family pension changes took effect from November 1, 2022.

• VOICE, 'Voicing Opinion to Inspire, Contribute and Excel', provides an employee feedback platform. Nine VOICE sessions covered 181 participants. 'Vartalap' town halls: 217 meetings, 11,035 employees.

• 2025 recruitment: 247 employees, comprising Class I 78, Class III 167 and Class IV 2. Category totals: SC 25, ST 34, OBC 61, EWS 21.

• Staff strength as at December 31, 2025: 13,220, down 2.2% from end-December 2024. Ex-servicemen: 1,073; differently abled employees: 324; five ex-servicemen and six PwBD were recruited during 2025.

• PoSH: 7 fresh complaints received and 8 cases disposed during 2025-26. RBI guidelines had been issued in 2014-15 under the 2013 Act and Rules.

• Wellness: medical schemes for serving and retired employees; 'Sehat Sampada' included 'My Fitness Mantra' preventive-health initiative.

• RTI: 31,995 applications and 2,567 appeals received in 2025-26; 6 training programmes and 129 RTI sessions conducted.

• 2026-27 HR agenda: full-scale MOOCs and short private online courses in coordination with RBI training establishments.

EXAM ALERT: High-yield HR numbers: 247 recruits; 13,220 total staff; 217 Vartalap meetings/11,035 employees; 31,995 RTI applications.

4. Enterprise-wide Risk Management

RMD is the second line of defence in RBI's three-tier internal risk management framework and is responsible for formulation and operationalisation of ERM.

• IRIS, launched January 2020 for incident reporting and risk registers, was revamped into Next Gen-IRIS and went live April 1, 2026.

• Operating procedures for the revised Information Security Policy 2024 were completed by end-December 2025, aligning with emerging threats and best practices.

• ERM Framework 2.0 shifts risk management from a compliance-driven approach towards a value-creating and anticipatory approach. It emphasises advanced data analytics, emerging-risk preparedness, continuous enhancement, risk culture and enterprise-wide awareness.

• 2026-27 RMD agenda includes risk profiling of respective business areas and a thematic review on risk management in RBI.

EXAM ALERT: Three lines of defence: first line = individual business areas; second line = RMD/centralised risk monitoring; third line = Inspection Department/risk assurance.

5. Internal Audit / Inspection

The Inspection Department evaluates internal controls and governance and provides risk assurance under the Risk-Based Internal Audit (RBIA) framework. It is the third line of defence and reports to ARMS of the Central Board. It also administers Concurrent Audit (CA) and Control Self-Assessment Audit (CSAA).

• Inspection Department is Secretariat to ARMS and the Executive Directors' Committee for internal-audit oversight; Zonal Inspectorates support audit-compliance monitoring and independent risk assurance.

• 2025-26 agenda: strengthen concurrent audit; formulate Inspection Department Charter; examine AI/ML adoption; conduct thematic studies on AMCs/agreements, disaster recovery/BCP, and archival/record management.

• Concurrent-auditor selection procedure was reviewed and a revised circular issued. Thematic studies were completed.

• AI/ML Working Group submitted its report in February 2026. ARMS Charter was reviewed covering internal controls, risk monitoring, audits and compliance.

• Complete automation of Inspection Department audit processes in the Audit Management System was achieved.

• 2026-27: integrated thematic reviews; review/refine auditor-office categorisation and strengthen assurance coordination; augment inspection capacity.

6. Corporate Strategy and Budget

CSBD coordinates the medium-term Utkarsh strategy, prepares the annual budget, monitors expenditure and maintains superannuation/staff welfare funds. It formulates and executes BCP for critical operations, acts as nodal department for four RBI-funded institutes and monitors citizen's charter services.

• 2025-26 goals: BCM dashboard; review Utkarsh 2.0; formulate Utkarsh 2029; improve deliverables of four funded institutes.

• BCM application with interactive dashboard was implemented as a crisis-response tool.

• Utkarsh 2.0 review for 2023-25 completed. Utkarsh 2029 formulated for April 2026-March 2029.

• Four RBI-funded institutes: CAFRAL, IGIDR, NIBM and IIBM. Mechanisms were strengthened for collaboration and use of their research capabilities.

• Citizen's Charter: revised list of 204 services released July 1, 2025, revised to 200 services as on March 2, 2026. Performance is published on RBI's website on the first working day of every month.

• SOP for business continuity during crisis situations was put in place. Budget Rating Framework was fine-tuned.

• Across CAFRAL, NIBM and IIBM, 357 training programmes covered about 9,986 participants. IGIDR awarded 87 Economics degrees: 3 PhD, 7 MPhil and 77 MSc. NIBM awarded PGDM (Banking and Financial Services) to 131 students.

• 2026-27: synergise activities of RBI-funded institutes and convert eligible sub-offices into independent accounting units.

EXAM ALERT: Citizen's Charter: 204 services on July 1, 2025, revised to 200 on March 2, 2026.

7. Rajbhasha

Rajbhasha Department is the nodal department for implementing the Official Language Policy within RBI. It promotes incremental Hindi adoption through an action plan and monitoring mechanism.

• 2025-26 agenda: Rajbhasha-inspection training, faculty development for Rajbhasha officers, Hindi workshop for private secretaries, special programme for executives on Committee of Parliament on Official Language inspection questionnaire, and a consolidated Hindi magazine.

• Hindi workshop for private secretaries was held January 3, 2026. Special programme for executives was held in August 2025.

• New magazine 'Sanchayika' released August 14, 2025, compiling quality articles from RBI magazines.

• TOLIC: RBI offices in Chandigarh, Shillong, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Dehradun, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram received the Chair Committee in their respective cities. TOLIC functioning programme: June 20, 2025. Rajbhasha Conference: February 28, 2026.

• Under GoI Hindi Teaching Scheme, 278 staff cleared Parangat and 136 cleared Pragya examinations in 2025-26.

• Publications included the half-yearly magazine showcasing RO/COD events, Sanchayika, and two editions of 'Banking Chintan-Anuchintan'.

• 2026-27: programmes relating to Committee visits, Rajbhasha inspection/translation, Hindi workshop for private secretaries and IT seminar for Reserve Bank officers.

8. Premises

Premises Department aims at best-in-class, environment-friendly physical infrastructure combining architectural excellence, aesthetics, green ratings and cleanliness.

• 2025-26 goals: achieve Utkarsh 2.0 targets; acquire/provide space as required; advance construction projects at Regional Offices.

• Renewable-energy usage reached 9.1% against 7.5% target. Energy savings reached 14.5% against 7.5% target.

• Land acquisition was ensured at required locations and construction commenced for one residential project that had been in planning.

• One learning institute's construction was completed during 2025-26. Solar-power installations had combined capacity of 4,725 kWp at end-March 2026.

• 2026-27: continue acquisition/provision of required space and construction projects at ROs.

PART 2: IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Topic	Figure	Exam point
Central Board meetings	8	2025-26
CCB meetings	46	34 e-meetings
Standing Committee	2 meetings each	Northern, Western, Eastern, Southern areas
RBI training establishments	RBSC, CAB, CoS, ECCTI + 4 ZTCs	In-house training network
RBSC 2025-26	109 programmes; 2,845 participants	Table XI.1
CoS 2025-26	79; 3,287	Table XI.1
CAB 2025-26	241; 41,349	Table XI.1
ECCTI 2025-26	23; 652	Table XI.1
ZTC Class I	82; 2,077	Table XI.1
ZTC Class III	111; 2,721	Table XI.1
ZTC Class IV	27; 513	Table XI.1
External training in India	650 officers	2025-26
External training abroad	582 officers	64 online
Study leave	17 officers	9 overseas
Grant to IGIDR	₹33.7 crore	2025-26
Grant to CAFRAL	₹18.6 crore	2025-26
Grant to NIBM	₹4.2 crore	2025-26
LSE India Observatory + IG Patel Chair	₹0.95 crore	2025-26
Central Association meetings	14	Industrial relations
VOICE	9 sessions; 181 participants	Employee feedback
Vartalap	217 meetings; 11,035 employees	Town halls
Recruitment	247	Jan-Dec 2025
Total staff	13,220	Dec 31, 2025; -2.2%
Ex-servicemen	1,073	Dec 31, 2025
Differently abled employees	324	Dec 31, 2025
PoSH complaints/cases disposed	7 / 8	2025-26
RTI applications/appeals	31,995 / 2,567	2025-26
RTI training/sessions	6 / 129	2025-26
Next Gen-IRIS	Live Apr 1, 2026	RMD
Citizen's Charter	204 → 200	Jul 1, 2025 → Mar 2, 2026
Funded institutes	4	CAFRAL, IGIDR, NIBM, IIBM
Institute programmes/participants	357 / about 9,986	CAFRAL, NIBM, IIBM
IGIDR degrees	87	3 PhD + 7 MPhil + 77 MSc
NIBM PGDM students	131	Banking & Financial Services
Rajbhasha Parangat/Pragya	278 / 136	2025-26
Renewable-energy usage	9.1% vs 7.5% target	Premises
Energy savings	14.5% vs 7.5% target	Premises
Solar capacity	4,725 kWp	End-March 2026

 

PART 3: IMPORTANT DATES

Date / period	Event
Jan 2023-Dec 2025	Utkarsh 2.0 period
June 30, 2025	ED Jayant Kumar Dash superannuated
July 1, 2025	Citizen's Charter revised list: 204 services
July 24, 2025	Anuradha Thakur nominated Director under Section 8(1)(d)
Aug 14, 2025	Sanchayika released
Aug 2025	Special Rajbhasha programme for Committee inspection questionnaire
Sep 4, 2025	ED Rajiv Ranjan voluntarily retired
Oct 8, 2025	M. Rajeshwar Rao relinquished Deputy Governor charge
Oct 9, 2025	Shirish Chandra Murmu assumed Deputy Governor office
Nov 28, 2025	ED Aviral Jain superannuated
Dec 1, 2025	Usha Janakiraman promoted as ED
End-Dec 2025	Revised IS Policy 2024 operating procedures completed
Feb 2026	AI/ML internal-audit Working Group submitted report
Feb 28, 2026	Rajbhasha Conference
Mar 2, 2026	Citizen's Charter revised to 200 services
Mar 3, 2025	Sanjay Kumar Hansda promoted as ED
Mar 31, 2026	Solar capacity measured at 4,725 kWp
Apr 1, 2026	Next Gen-IRIS went live
Apr 2026-Mar 2029	Utkarsh 2029 period
May 2, 2026	T. Rabi Sankar relinquished DG charge
May 4, 2026	Rohit Jain assumed Deputy Governor office
May 18, 2026	Gunveer Singh promoted as ED

 

PART 4: IMPORTANT RBI / GOI / OTHER INITIATIVES

Initiative / framework	Owner	One-line purpose / key fact
Utkarsh 2029	RBI	Medium-term strategy for Apr 2026-Mar 2029; three-year horizon; six strategy pillars, supported by vision and values.
ERM Framework 2.0	RBI/RMD	Next-decade roadmap; anticipatory, value-creating risk management with data analytics and risk culture.
Next Gen-IRIS	RBI/RMD	Revamped incident/risk-register system; live from Apr 1, 2026.
Audit Management System	RBI/Inspection	Complete automation of Inspection Department audit processes.
AI/ML internal-audit Working Group	RBI/Inspection	Feasibility of AI/ML in internal audit; report submitted Feb 2026.
MOOCs framework	RBI/HRMD	Integrated into training ecosystem; pilots completed, full-scale implementation underway.
VOICE	RBI/HRMD	Employee ideas/feedback platform; 9 sessions, 181 participants.
Vartalap	RBI/HRMD	Town-hall employee engagement; 217 meetings, 11,035 employees.
Sehat Sampada / My Fitness Mantra	RBI/HRMD	Employee wellness and preventive healthcare.
BCM dashboard	RBI/CSBD	Interactive business continuity and crisis-response application.
Citizen's Charter	RBI/CSBD	Services list rationalised from 204 to 200 during 2025-26.
Rajbhasha action plan	RBI/GoI policy	Incremental Hindi adoption and monitoring.
Sanchayika	RBI/Rajbhasha	Consolidated Hindi magazine released Aug 14, 2025.
TOLIC	RBI/Official Language	Town Official Language Implementation Committee engagement.
Green-energy premises programme	RBI/Premises	Renewable-energy usage 9.1%; energy savings 14.5%; solar capacity 4,725 kWp.

 

PART 5: KEY DEFINITIONS / CONCEPTS

Term	Meaning / exam point
Central Board of Directors	Governance body of RBI under RBI Act, 1934; Governor is Chairperson.
CCB	Committee of the Central Board; headed by Governor; handles current RBI business including Weekly Statement of Affairs.
BFS	Board for Financial Supervision; Governor-headed committee assisting Central Board.
ARMS	Audit and Risk Management Sub-committee.
HRM-SC	Human Resource Management Sub-Committee.
B-SC	Building Sub-Committee.
IT-SC	Information Technology Sub-Committee.
S-SC	Strategy Sub-Committee.
HRMD	Human Resource Management Department.
RMD	Risk Monitoring Department; second line of defence and centralised risk monitoring.
ERM	Enterprise-wide Risk Management.
IRIS	Integrated Risk Monitoring and Incident Reporting System; launched Jan 2020.
RBIA	Risk-Based Internal Audit.
CA	Concurrent Audit.
CSAA	Control Self-Assessment Audit.
CSBD	Corporate Strategy and Budget Department.
BCP	Business Continuity Plan.
BCM	Business Continuity Management.
Utkarsh 2.0	RBI medium-term strategy for Jan 2023-Dec 2025.
Utkarsh 2029	RBI medium-term strategy for Apr 2026-Mar 2029.
TOLIC	Town Official Language Implementation Committee.
Parangat / Pragya	Examinations under GoI Hindi Teaching Scheme.

 

PART 6: CONFUSION POINTS

Confusion	Correct distinction
Utkarsh 2.0 vs Utkarsh 2029	Utkarsh 2.0: Jan 2023-Dec 2025; Utkarsh 2029: Apr 2026-Mar 2029.
RMD vs Inspection	RMD is second line/centralised risk monitoring; Inspection is third line/risk assurance.
ERM 2.0 vs Next Gen-IRIS	ERM 2.0 is the enterprise risk-management framework; Next Gen-IRIS is the revamped incident/risk-register application.
RBIA vs Concurrent Audit vs CSAA	RBIA is the overall risk-based internal-audit framework; CA and CSAA are mechanisms administered by Inspection.
CCB vs Central Board	Central Board is the governing body; CCB is a Governor-headed committee handling current business.
204 vs 200 Citizen's Charter services	204 services on July 1, 2025; revised to 200 on March 2, 2026.
9.1% vs 14.5%	9.1% is renewable-energy usage; 14.5% is energy savings.
7.5% target	7.5% was the target for both renewable-energy usage and energy savings in the Premises section.
13,220 vs 247	13,220 is total staff strength at Dec 31, 2025; 247 is recruitment during Jan-Dec 2025.
1,073 vs 324	1,073 ex-servicemen; 324 differently abled employees.
650 vs 582	650 officers trained at external institutions in India; 582 trained abroad.
582 vs 64	582 is total officers trained abroad; 64 is the online-mode figure in Table XI.2.
357 vs 9,986	357 training programmes and about 9,986 participants across CAFRAL, NIBM and IIBM.
278 vs 136	278 cleared Parangat; 136 cleared Pragya.

 

PART 7: LAST-MINUTE EXAM FACTS

• Utkarsh 2029 covers April 2026-March 2029; Utkarsh 2.0 covered January 2023-December 2025.

• Central Board held 8 meetings; CCB held 46, including 34 e-meetings, during 2025-26.

• Central Board is governed by the RBI Act, 1934 and comprises Governor, Deputy Governors and Central Government-nominated Directors.

• Standing Committee of the Central Board functioned in lieu of the four Area Local Boards and held two meetings for each area.

• Shirish Chandra Murmu assumed Deputy Governor office on October 9, 2025; Rohit Jain assumed office on May 4, 2026.

• Anuradha Thakur became a Central Board Director under Section 8(1)(d), effective July 24, 2025.

• HRMD skill-gap Committee submitted its report; recommendations remained under consideration.

• MOOC pilots were completed and full-scale implementation was underway.

• RBI's in-house training network includes RBSC, CAB, CoS, ECCTI and four ZTCs.

• 2025-26 training: CAB had 241 programmes and 41,349 participants, the largest participant count among the listed establishments.

• External training in 2025-26: 650 officers in India and 582 abroad; 64 abroad participants were online.

• 17 officers availed study leave, including 9 overseas.

• RBI provided ₹33.7 crore to IGIDR, ₹18.6 crore to CAFRAL, ₹4.2 crore to NIBM and ₹0.95 crore to LSE India Observatory/IG Patel Chair.

• VOICE: 9 sessions/181 participants; Vartalap: 217 meetings/11,035 employees.

• RBI recruited 247 employees in 2025; total staff strength was 13,220 at Dec 31, 2025, down 2.2%.

• RMD is the second line of defence; Inspection is the third line of defence.

• Next Gen-IRIS went live on April 1, 2026.

• ERM Framework 2.0 is a next-decade roadmap shifting risk management towards a value-creating and anticipatory approach.

• Inspection audit processes were fully automated through the Audit Management System.

• Utkarsh 2029 has a three-layered structure supported by six strategy pillars, vision and values.

• Citizen's Charter services were revised from 204 on July 1, 2025 to 200 on March 2, 2026.

• Across CAFRAL, NIBM and IIBM, 357 programmes covered about 9,986 participants.

• Rajbhasha: 278 Parangat and 136 Pragya qualifiers during 2025-26.

• Sanchayika was released on August 14, 2025.

• Premises renewable-energy usage was 9.1% against 7.5% target; energy savings 14.5% against 7.5% target.

• Solar installations had combined capacity of 4,725 kWp at end-March 2026.

• RTI workload: 31,995 applications and 2,567 appeals; six training programmes and 129 sessions.

• PoSH: 7 fresh complaints received and 8 cases disposed in 2025-26.