RBI Forms Financial Markets Consultative Panel Led by Deputy Governor Rohit Jain

RBI Opens a Formal Channel for Financial Market Consultation

The new panel brings market participants into a structured discussion of policy, trading systems and emerging risks.

A formal forum for market feedback

The committee’s creation gives structure to engagement that market participants say the RBI has conducted informally over the years. The central bank says the panel will discuss policy and operational matters across money, government securities and foreign exchange markets, as well as related derivatives and market infrastructure.

That remit matters because market rules and day-to-day processes can affect how participants trade, manage exposures and complete transactions. A regular consultative forum could help the RBI hear about practical difficulties earlier and consider how proposed measures may work in the market. The committee is an advisory channel for discussion; the announcement does not say that it replaces the RBI’s policy-making or regulatory responsibilities.

Banking, markets and infrastructure represented

The external members include Ananth Narayan, a former whole-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and professor of practice at IIT Bombay; Shamsher Singh of State Bank of India and FIMMDA; and executives from Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Citi India. The panel also includes Nand Kishore of Clearing Corporation of India and Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley India.

This mix brings perspectives from banks, market activity, academia and clearing infrastructure into the same forum. Those viewpoints may differ: a policy or operational change can have distinct implications for participants that trade, manage treasury operations or support clearing and settlement. Hearing across these roles could help surface implementation concerns that might otherwise emerge only after a measure is introduced.

Efficiency, liquidity and resilience on the agenda

The terms of reference ask the committee to examine the functioning, efficiency, liquidity and resilience of the specified markets, and identify ways to deepen and broaden them. It will also consider trading, clearing, settlement and reporting, along with the regulatory and operational frameworks that support those activities.

The panel is also expected to discuss the implementation of RBI measures and identify unintended market frictions. That focus makes the committee relevant beyond the design of new policy: feedback on how existing measures operate could help the central bank assess whether their execution is producing difficulties that were not intended. The announcement does not specify a timetable for meetings or changes arising from the panel’s discussions.

What the committee could mean for markets

For participants, a formal route to raise operational issues may improve the quality of consultation, particularly where trading arrangements and market infrastructure are concerned. For the RBI, discussions across institutions could provide a more organised way to assess emerging risks, financial innovations and domestic and international developments affecting Indian markets.

The practical impact will depend on how often the panel meets, which issues it takes up and whether consultation leads to changes in policy or market processes. Until those details emerge, the committee is best viewed as a framework for engagement, rather than evidence of an immediate change to market rules or liquidity conditions.

Key Highlights

• The RBI has formed a Technical Consultative Committee for Financial Markets, chaired by Deputy Governor Rohit Jain.
• Its coverage includes money, government securities and foreign exchange markets, related derivatives and market infrastructure.
• External members represent banking, markets, academia and clearing infrastructure.
• The panel will examine market efficiency, liquidity, resilience and ways to deepen and broaden markets.
• Its remit includes implementation issues, unintended frictions, emerging risks and financial innovation.

Investor Note: The committee’s formation signals a more structured approach to consultation, but does not by itself indicate a change in market rules or conditions. Investors can watch for subsequent RBI decisions and any concrete changes to market operations that follow the panel’s discussions.