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Reserve Bank of India updates Y2K monograph

Titled 'Year 2000 preparations in the banking and financial sector', the monograph gives an account of the initiatives taken by the RBI and the financial sector for achieving Y2K compliance in co-ordination with the central government, Indian Banks Association and trade organisations besides insurance, telecom, power and transport services.

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The updated version of the monograph focuses on the need for business continuity planning. This involves continued testing of the systems and preparation of detailed contingency plans and their testing in simulated environment.

The key objective of contingency planning is to identify possible risks to what is critical for business continuity and development and implementation of strategies to reduce the risks or mitigate their impact.

The RBI has advised banks and financial institutions to keep up-to-date printed hard copies of the important books of accounts and customer accounts as a part of contingency plans.

This would help temporary switchover to manual procedures with ease in the event of any disruption caused due to the millennium bug.

Further, they have been advised to identify possible sources of liquidity and take measures to ensure adequate supply of cash through the currency chests.

The RBI has stressed the need for having skilled personnel to respond to particular difficulties during the roll over period and the first few months of 2000.

The RBI has also taken all measures to become Y2K compliant in all its operational departments.

The RBI is in the process of installing state-of-the-art technology mainframe systems at national clearing cells in Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and New Delhi. These would be live during July-October 1999. The solution has already been tested for Y2K compliance.

Around 70 per cent of commercial banks are reported to be Y2K compliant up to May 1999 and the rest are expected to be Y2K compliant by June 1999.

Non-banking subsidiaries of commercial banks are already Y2K compliant. In respect of financial institutions, around 40 per cent are Y2K compliant, whereas another about 23 per cent are expected to be compliant by today.

The working group set up by the RBI to monitor Y2K compliance in the banking and financial sector, at its meeting held today, proposed that at its next meeting representatives of apex bodies in the financial sector such as, SEBI, IRA, IDBI, NABARD, NHB, GIC, LIC and UTI may be invited to review the progress of Y2K compliance in their respective sectors.

UNI

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