Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India chaired the 41st Meeting of the SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group in virtual format on March 1, 2021. In his opening remarks, Governor Shri Das expressed optimism about the overall COVID-19 situation following the roll-out of the vaccines and complimented all the SAARC central banks for their efforts in combating the pandemic. He led the discussions on progress made under the SAARCFINANCE initiatives, achieved with the all-round cooperation of the SAARC central banks and launched the maiden issue of the annual SAARCFINANCE e-Newsletter. While the Governors agreed that the pandemic had an adverse impact on their economies, they recognized the importance of leveraging technology to spur growth.

The meeting was attended by the Governors from other SAARC central banks – Mr. Ajmal Ahmadi, Da Afghanistan Bank; Mr. Fazle Kabir, Bangladesh Bank; Mr. Dasho Penjore, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Mr. Ali Hashim, Maldives Monetary Authority; Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Nepal Rastra Bank; Dr. Reza Baqir, State Bank of Pakistan; and Prof. W. D. Lakshman, Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

With the RBI’s tenure coming to a close, Governor Shri Das handed over the SAARCFINANCE Chair (effective from April 01, 2021) to the Governor, Maldives Monetary Authority and assured him of the Reserve Bank’s continued commitment to the SAARCFINANCE initiative.

The SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Symposium was inaugurated by Shri Das on March 02, 2021. He emphasized the importance of effective, creative and prudent use of technology by central bankers, especially in the areas of Big Data, Digital Currencies, Reg-Tech, Sup-Tech and cyber security. The Keynote Address was delivered by Mr. Jermy Prenio, Senior Adviser, Financial Stability Institute, BIS on the topic ‘Suptech use in central banks’. The Symposium also included a Panel Discussion on ‘Cyber Security in Central Banks’ and a presentation by the researchers of the SAARCFINANCE Collaborative Study on ‘Comparison of Financial Sector Regulatory Regimes in the SAARC Region’.

SAARCFINANCE is a network of central bank governors and finance secretaries of the SAARC region. The Reserve Bank of India is the present chair of the SAARCFINANCE from October 2019 to March 2021.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2020-2021/1183