RBI’s Sarthi and Pravaah Initiatives:
The Reserve Bank of India was recently selected for the UK’s Digital Transformation Award 2025 for its tech innovations Sarthi and Pravaah systems.
- The Sarthi system, named after the Hindi word for ‘charioteer’, was launched in January 2023 to digitise all of RBI’s internal workflows.
- It enables employees to securely store and share documents, improving record management and enhancing data analysis through reports and dashboards.
- The online Sarthi Pathshala (‘school’) helps users become familiar with the system, and the Pathshala was rolled out alongside extensive in-person training.
- Additionally, Sarthi mitras (‘friends’) are people in each RBI office who know the system well and can help colleagues with any issues.
- Pravaah Initiative building upon the foundation of Sarthi, the Pravaah system, meaning ‘smooth flow’ in Hindi, was introduced in May 2024.
- This platform allows external users to submit regulatory applications digitally, seamlessly integrating with the Sarthi database for processing within RBI’s offices.
- The transition to a fully digital infrastructure, supported by centralised cybersecurity and tracking mechanisms, has significantly improved transparency and efficiency.
- Pravaah’s seamless integration with Sarthi has not only streamlined the submission process but also provided real-time tracking and analytics for both applicants and RBI managers, cutting down on the lengthy delays caused by paper-based systems.
- The RBI has seen an 80% increase in monthly applications since Pravaah’s launch, marking a significant achievement in the central bank’s digital evolution.
