One Nation One Ombudsman By RBI

One Nation One Ombudsman scheme is proposed by the Reserve Bank of India – RBI to approach grievance redressal and enhance consumer protection.

The details on One Nation One Ombudsman is relevant for the current affairs section of IAS exam as well as other competitive exams.

Aspirants can also check out all the One Nation schemes, missions or ideas initiated by the Government of India – 

1. One Nation One Standard Mission
2. One Nation One Election 
3. One Rank One Pension Scheme for Indian Armed Forces – OROP

Facts related to One Nation One Ombudsman Scheme will assist candidates to prepare for the upcoming UPSC Prelims and Mains examination conveniently.

One Nation One Ombudsman Scheme

1. One Nation One Ombudsman Scheme was announced by the Reserve Bank Of India – RBI on 5th February 2021.
2. There are dedicated ombudsman schemes devoted to consumer grievance redressal in banking, non-bank finance companies and digital transactions, respectively, are in operation from 22 ombudsman offices of the RBI located across the country.
3. In line with the global initiatives on consumer protection, RBI has taken various initiatives to strengthen the Grievance Redress Mechanism of regulated entities.
4. The adoption of the ‘One Nation One Ombudsman is an approach to make the alternate dispute redressal mechanism simpler and more responsive to the customers of regulated entities, it has been decided to implement, inter alia, integration of the three Ombudsman schemes in one.
5. The RBI had operationalised the complaint management system portal as a one-stop solution. This portal will be used for the alternate dispute resolution of the customer complaints which are not resolved by regulated entities.
6. The Scheme is intended to make the process of redress of grievances easier by enabling the customers of the banks, NBFCs and non-bank issuers of PPIs to register their complaints under the integrated scheme, with one centralised reference point. Aspirants can read about the types of Banks in India on the given link. 
7. Financial consumer protection has gained significant policy priority across jurisdictions and the RBI has been taking a slew of initiatives on the same.
8. The RBI is targeting to roll out the e-integrated ombudsman scheme in June 2021.

What is an Ombudsman?

An ombudsman is a government official who deals with complaints made by ordinary people against public organizations. 

This concept came from Sweden. It means an officer appointed by the Legislature to handle complaints against a service or administrative authority. In India, the Government has appointed an Ombudsman to resolve grievances in the following sectors.

1. Insurance Ombudsman
2. Income Tax Ombudsman
3. Banking Ombudsman

Candidates can read in detail about BCM- Banking Correspondents in India Bank Saathi on the linked page.

One Nation One Ombudsman Scheme Significance 

1. It will help in easy lodging of customer grievances and redressal. To know what are the components of a Grievance Redressal Mechanism, visit the linked article.
2. It is a step in the right direction for improving the customer service in banks, NBFCs and Non-Bank Prepaid Payments Issuers. Read about types of Non-Banking Financial institutions on the linked page. 
3. Through One nation One Ombudsman, RBI aims to integrate consumer grievances redressal under a single ombudsman as against three schemes.
4. It’s a big step to bring more effectiveness and speed similar to One Nation One Ration Card Scheme (ONORC).

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