Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and Visitor, IDRBT, presented the IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards for the year-ended December 2009 on June 18, 2010.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Subbarao focused on the importance of financial inclusion, the role of technology, and the way forward for technology in Banking. Pointing to the catalytical role of financial inclusion, he stressed that the focus now clearly has to be to facilitate "inclusion" first and "interoperability" can follow. Further, mobile telephony has an important role and mobile service providers collaborate with banks to provide value added services.

Outlining a way forward for technology in Banking, he stressed that "the deepening of the use of technology in banking requires that it be accompanied by good IT governance which is a sub-set of good corporate governance. Banks must put in place robust risk management systems encompassing effective infrastructure, security policies, incident reporting and business continuity management. Also, these management systems must be subject to regular review and monitoring. The second priority issue on the way forward is the quality control of data and its use for improving banking efficiency. The next priority is protection of information and customer confidentiality. Last and possibly the most important is the need to guard against what can be called a technology barrier between the bank and the customer."

Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, dwelt upon the importance of the awards and the crucial role being played by IDRBT in adding technology absorption in banks. Complimenting the efforts of the Institute, he said that the Reserve Bank of India has set up many organizations and Institutions, but IDRBT is the "jewel" among all of them.

The Hon'ble Governor also released the Booklet on "IT Governance Series: Organizational Structure for IT in the Indian Banking Sector", published by the Institute and inaugurated the Customer Relationship Management Lab of the Institute.

The Institute, with a view to infuse a spirit of healthy competition and accelerate the process of technology implementation and innovation among various banks in the country, instituted the IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards in the year 2001. These Awards from the Institute are meant to act as catalysts by recognizing and rewarding the efforts of banks aimed at better use of technology, greater levels of technology absorption, and improved levels of customer service and satisfaction through innovative use of technology.

The Awards are arrived at after a careful scrutiny and evaluation of the inputs called for from all the banks on a wide range of parameters by an eminent jury. Accordingly, these awards are the best indicators of efficient and effective technology implementation and innovation in the Indian Banking and Financial Sector. The awards, meant to recognise and honour the best and innovative use of information technology to enhance the levels of customer service and satisfaction, were presented in the following seven categories:

• Best Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion
• Mobile Banking and Payment Applications
• IT Framework and Governance among Large Banks
• IT Framework and Governance Among Other Banks
• Use of IT for Internal Effectiveness
• IT Infrastructure Management
• Customer Relationship Management Initiatives

Both Public and Private Sector Banks submitted information for each category of award. The jury took into account the heterogeneities in the industry in terms of size, presence and level of operations while comparing the banks for each category of award.

An eminent jury consisting of Shri K. V. Kamath, Chairman, ICICI Bank, Dr. R. B. Barman, Former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India; Prof. G. Sivakumar, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; Dr. K. Ramakrishnan, Chief Executive, Indian Banks Association; and Prof. S. Sadagopan, Director, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore; adjudged the banks.