RBI’s innovation hub will be led by Infosys co-founder and veteran investor Kris Gopalakrishnan

• India’s central bank Reserve Bank of India has officially set up its innovation hub to boost financial technology startups in the country.
• Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder of Infosys and founder of Axilor Ventures, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the hub.
• The RBI also announced the first cohort of its Regulatory Sandbox with two startups – Natural Support Consultancy Services and Nucleus Software Exports.

India’s central bank Reserve Bank of India has officially set up its innovation hub to boost financial technology startups in the country. In an official statement the central bank said that the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) will promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging technology and creating an environment that would facilitate and foster innovation.

“It would develop internal infrastructure to promote fintech research and facilitate engagement with innovators and start-ups,” said the RBI.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys and founder of Axilor Ventures who is also the Chief Mentor of Start-up Village – an incubation centre for startups, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the hub, while a CEO is yet to be appointed.

Other members of RBIH

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala	Institute Professor, IIT, Madras
Prof. H. Krishnamurthy	Principal Research Scientist, IISc., Bengaluru
Gopal Srinivasan	CMD, TVS Capital Funds
A.P. Hota	Former CEO, National Payments Corporation of India
Mrutyunjay Mahapatra	Former CMD, Syndicate Bank
T. Rabi Sankar	Executive Director, RBI (ex-officio)
Deepak Kumar	CGM, Department of Information Technology, RBI (ex-officio)
K. Nikhila	Director, Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology, Hyderabad (ex-officio)

The RBI also opened the first cohort of its Regulatory Sandbox with two startups – Natural Support Consultancy Services and Nucleus Software Exports. The cohort will see the startups begin testing their products under the RBI’s guidance.

Recently, $4 that it has brought in startups under the purview of Priority Sector Lending. This move will benefit startups, who can borrow from banks with much more ease and open up another avenue for funds. The steps taken by the RBI will help the under stress companies that have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

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