The Ombudsman Scheme, introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1995, has completed three decades as a cornerstone of India’s alternate grievance redressal framework. Over the last 30 years, it has evolved into a dynamic, consumer-centric mechanism that ensures fairness, efficiency, and accessibility in resolving complaints against regulated financial entities. As India’s financial ecosystem has rapidly transformed—driven by digitalisation, expanding credit access, and the rise of innovative financial products—the Ombudsman Scheme has equally adapted to keep customer protection at its core.
A Pillar of Consumer Empowerment
At its inception, the Scheme aimed to provide banking customers—especially the vulnerable and less privileged—with an accessible platform to resolve grievances without the need for litigation. Today, it stands as one of the most critical pillars of India’s consumer protection architecture.
One of its defining strengths has been its proactive approach. RBI Ombudsmen don’t merely resolve individual complaints—they identify systemic issues that signal deeper operational or compliance gaps across regulated entities. These insights have driven significant corrective action within banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), strengthened supervisory frameworks, and improved consumer trust across the financial system.
Annual Report 2024–25: Key Highlights
The latest Annual Report under the Reserve Bank–Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 provides a comprehensive review of complaint trends, resolution efficiency, and consumer protection initiatives undertaken during FY 2024–25.
Expansive Coverage and Rising Awareness
The Scheme currently covers:
- Commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks, and Urban Co-operative Banks with deposits above ₹50 crore
- NBFCs that accept deposits or have customer interface with assets above ₹100 crore
- Payment system participants
- Credit information companies
This broad coverage ensures customers across the financial spectrum find a unified, efficient redressal mechanism.
Complaint Trends
A total of 13.34 lakh complaints were received under RB-IOS in FY 2024–25—a 13.55% increase from the previous year, indicating rising awareness and trust in the mechanism.
Key statistics include:
- 91.22% of complaints filed digitally—through the CMS portal or email
- Loan and Advances remained the top source of grievances, followed by a rise in complaints related to credit cards
- Complaints against banks accounted for 81.53%, with private banks receiving the highest share
- Mobile/electronic banking complaints declined by 12.74%, reflecting improved digital security and user education
The 24 Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) disposed of 2.90 lakh complaints, achieving a strong 93.07% disposal rate. Importantly, 51.91% of maintainable complaints were resolved through settlement, conciliation, or mediation—highlighting the Scheme’s emphasis on fair, non-adversarial resolution.
Beyond Grievances: Awareness and Prevention
The Ombudsman ecosystem also performed robust outreach in 2024–25, including:
- Issuance of guidelines to curb voice/SMS-based financial fraud
- Town-hall meetings and 243 awareness programmes across India
- Thematic multimedia campaigns on grievance redressal and digital safety
- Launch of the 24×7 Contact Centre (14448) handling over 9.27 lakh calls, with multilingual support
These efforts underline RBI’s commitment not only to resolving complaints but also to empowering citizens with knowledge and preventive safeguards.
The Road Ahead: Strengthening the Framework
For FY 2025–26, RBI’s Consumer Education and Protection Department plans to:
- Review the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (2021)
- Upgrade the Complaint Management System
- Issue a unified Master Direction on grievance redressal
- Strengthen mechanisms at the regulated-entity level
Conclusion
As the RBI Ombudsman Scheme completes 30 impactful years, it continues to stand as a symbol of trust, transparency, and accountability. With continuous refinement and strengthened digital capabilities, it remains central to building a more responsive and consumer-centric financial ecosystem for India’s evolving economy.