Bank Websites To End With 'bank.in'; 'fin.in' Domain For Financial Sector

The Reserve Bank of India will be implementing an exclusive 'bank.in' domain to tackle financial frauds, newly appointed Governor Sanjay Malhotra said while announcing RBI policy. The registrations for this domain will begin from April this year, he added.

"The Reserve Bank shall implement the 'bank.in' exclusive internet domain for Indian banks [...] This will be followed by the 'fin.in' domain for the financial sector," Malhotra elaborated.

RBI's decision for a specific domain for banks comes on the back of its concerns over increasing sophistication of cyber threats and digital risks, the Governor explained.

He highlighted that the central bank has been taking various measures to enhance digital security in the banking and payments system such as the additional factor of authentication for domestic and international digital payments.

"Banks and NBFCs must develop robust incident response and recovery mechanisms, reinforced through periodic testing, for operational resilience," Malhotra added.

The RBI Monetary Policy Committee, led by Malhotra, cut the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points, while maintaining its neutral stance. This is the first time in two years that the MPC has changed the benchmark lending rate and the first time in five years that rate has been cut.

After the review, the MPC decided the following on lending rates:

• To cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% unanimously.

• The standing deposit facility rate, pegged 25 basis points below the repo rate, is at 6.0%.

• The marginal standing facility rate, which is 25 basis points above the repo rate, is 6.5%.