Rajeev Dwivedi, chief general manager and ombudsman, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), who was in the city on Thursday, highlighted the pivotal role of Reserve Bank’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) in swiftly addressing customer grievances.

Addressing mediapersons, Dwivedi emphasised the importance of awareness, stating, “Jaankar baniye, satark rahiye. Our aim is to elevate consumer awareness surrounding the transformative RB-IOS.”

He said the scheme, introduced on November 12, 2021, represented a significant milestone in RBI’s commitment to consumer rights. It integrated the erstwhile three ombudsman schemes of RBI, namely the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006; the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019.

“This consolidation simplified procedures, centralised complaint receipt, expanded coverage to more entities and eliminated jurisdictional disparities. RB-IOS provides for cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services rendered by entities regulated by RBI, if not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied to within 30 days,” he said.

“Through the upgraded Complaint Management System (CMS) portal, complainants can lodge their grievances from anywhere in the country, receive automatic acknowledgments, track complaint statuses in real-time and submit additional documents online. This ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach fosters transparency and efficiency in grievance redressal,” he shared.