Jayant Kumar Dash Committee Report

November 25, 2021 February 20, 2022

Jayant Kumar Dash Committee was established by Reserve Bank of India. The committee was set up to look into digital lending in India. This includes mobile apps and online platforms. The committee submitted its report in November 2021.

What are the key suggestions of the committee?

The committee suggested creating a nodal agency to verify the credentials of organisations into the business of digital lending. The nodal agency will work to prevent illegal lending.
It has recommended to enhance customer protection and make digital lending safe while encouraging innovation.
The nodal agency shall verify technological credentials of digital applications of balance sheet lenders and lending service providers.
A public register shall be maintained to verify applications.
The balance sheet lending shall be restricted. Balance sheet lending is a loan that the lender retains in his books instead of selling it to another party.
The committee has suggested to create “Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Act” to prevent illegal lending.
The compliance with prescribed baseline technology should be a precondition to offering digital lending.

What recommendations did the committee make in regards to data storage?

Each digital lending app should have publicly available policies regarding data storage. The data should be stored only in local servers.
The data shall be collected from the borrower with prior information on the usage, purpose and implication of such data.

What are the concerns raised by the Committee?

The Reserve Bank of India lags regulatory powers when in comes to most of the lending apps. This is because the lenders are not registered as non – banking financial companies.
Majority of the lending apps are not related any regulation authority.