Synopsis
The Reserve Bank of India has been awarded the Digital Transformation Award 2025 by Central Banking in London, recognizing its initiatives like Pravaah and Sarthi that have modernized operations and reduced paper usage.Key Takeaways
- RBI wins the Digital Transformation Award 2025.
- Initiatives Pravaah and Sarthi significantly reduce paper reliance.
- Sarthi digitizes internal workflows.
- Pravaah facilitates external regulatory submissions.
- Team collaboration was vital for successful implementation.
Mumbai, March 15 (NationPress) The Reserve Bank of India has been honored with the Digital Transformation Award 2025, an accolade presented by Central Banking in London.
This recognition highlights the RBI’s innovative digital initiatives, such as the Pravaah and Sarthi systems, which have significantly minimized the reliance on paper submissions, thereby revolutionizing both internal and external operations.
In a press release, Central Banking emphasized that these two initiatives have been instrumental in this transformative journey.
The Sarthi system, which translates to ‘charioteer’ in Hindi, has digitized all internal workflows of the RBI. Launched in January 2023, it enables employees to securely store and share documents, enhances record management, and broadens data analysis capabilities through comprehensive reports and dashboards.
Following this, the second phase of digital transformation commenced in May 2024 with Pravaah, which means 'smooth flow' in Hindi, offering a digital platform for external users to submit regulatory applications directly to the RBI.
Documents processed via the Pravaah portal are integrated into the Sarthi database, facilitating digital handling across all RBI offices, complete with centralized cyber security measures and digital tracking.
The effective implementation of Sarthi can be attributed, in part, to the dedicated support structures established by the RBI team.
The IT department underwent an extensive collaborative approach with employees to identify their requirements prior to developing the system, and appointed senior 'nodal officers' from each department to advocate for the upgrade.
The online Sarthi Pathshala ('school') assists users in navigating the system, which was launched alongside thorough in-person training sessions. Additionally, Sarthi mitras ('friends') are designated individuals in each RBI office who possess in-depth knowledge of the system and can support colleagues with any challenges.
The RBI officially announced its award selection via a post on X.
“The RBI has been recognized for its initiatives, including the Pravaah and Sarthi systems developed by its in-house team. The awards committee acknowledged how these digital solutions have effectively reduced the dependency on paper submissions, thus transforming the RBI’s internal and external processes,” stated the RBI.
