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Q87·GS Paper 1 · Prelims 2019

RBI Payment System Data Storage Directives

EconomyMonetary policy and fintech regulationStatement-basedMediumCurrent-affairs-linked

Question

Consider the following statements:

The Reserve Bank of India's recent directives relating to 'Storage of Payment System Data', popularly known as data diktat, command the payment system providers that

1they shall ensure that entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India
2they shall ensure that the systems are owned and operated by public sector enterprises
3they shall submit the consolidated system audit report to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by the end of the calendar year

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1.

    they shall ensure that entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India

  2. 2.

    they shall ensure that the systems are owned and operated by public sector enterprises

  3. 3.

    they shall submit the consolidated system audit report to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by the end of the calendar year

Options

a

1 only

Answer
b

1 and 2 only

c

3 only

d

1, 2 and 3

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: RBI's 2018 directive mandated that all data relating to payment systems must be stored only in India, not in foreign servers. This was a significant data localization requirement for security and regulatory oversight. Statement 2 is incorrect: The directive does not require systems to be owned and operated only by public sector enterprises; private companies can continue operating payment systems as long as data is stored in India. Statement 3 is incorrect: While audit and compliance requirements exist, the specific requirement to submit consolidated audit reports to the Comptroller and Auditor General by year-end is not accurate as per the actual RBI directive. Only statement 1 is accurate.

RBI's 'data diktat' primarily focused on data localization—ensuring payment data remains stored within India for regulatory control and security.

Answer: (a).

Question details

Year

2019

Paper

GS Paper 1

Question

Q87

Subject

Economy

Sub-topic

Monetary policy and fintech regulation

Type

Statement-based

Difficulty

Medium

Nature

Current-affairs-linked

Source hint

RBI guidelines on payment system data storage 2018

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