The Landscape of the Country’s Urban Cooperative Banks Set to Transform as RBI Launches ‘Mission Saksham’
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched ‘Mission Saksham’ (Cooperative Bank Capacity) with the aim of building capacity within the Urban Cooperative Banking (UCB) sector. The RBI has been undertaking various regulatory and supervisory measures to support the urban cooperative banking sector. Continuing these efforts, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra launched Mission Saksham on Tuesday. This initiative serves as a mission-based, sector-wide, pan-India capacity-building training program for UCBs.
In a press release, the RBI stated that under Mission Saksham—a name signifying ’empowerment’ or ‘enabling’—a large number of training programs (comprising both face-to-face and e-learning courses) will be organized for UCBs, involving approximately 140,000 participants across various functional areas. The participants will include key stakeholders such as Board Members, Senior Management, Heads of Risk, Compliance, and Audit functions, as well as employees working in IT and other critical domains. The Reserve Bank intends to conduct these training programs with content delivered in regional languages wherever feasible. This mission has been designed in consultation with the Umbrella Organization for UCBs, as well as national and state cooperative federations.
This mission is expected to enhance managerial and operational capabilities; furthermore, by fostering an improved culture of compliance, it is anticipated to strengthen the institutional resilience of all UCB entities. The objective of Mission Saksham is to create a self-reinforcing ecosystem that will make a significant contribution to the systemic stability, growth, and development of the UCB sector.
