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
- 1.they shall ensure that entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India
- 2.they shall ensure that the systems are owned and operated by public sector enterprises
- 3.they 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?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
Only statement 1 is correct. The RBI's directive of 6 April 2018 requires payment system providers to keep all payment data in a system located only in India. It says nothing about public-sector ownership, and the audit report goes to the RBI, not to the CAG.
- ✓ 1. The directive says all system providers must ensure that the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them is stored in a system only in India. Only the foreign leg of a transaction may also be stored abroad.
- ✗ 2. The directive is about where data is stored. It does not require the systems to be owned or run by public sector enterprises.
- ✗ 3. Providers had to submit a System Audit Report, prepared by CERT-In empanelled auditors and approved by their Board, to the Reserve Bank by 31 December 2018. It was not to be sent to the CAG.
Remember · RBI's data-localisation directive (6 April 2018): all payment data stored only in India; system audit report by a CERT-In empanelled auditor goes to the RBI.
Sources
- RBI circular DPSS.CO.OD.No.2785/06.08.005/2017-18, Storage of Payment System Data, 6 April 2018 ↗ “All system providers shall ensure that the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India. … The audit should be conducted by CERT-IN empaneled auditors certifying completion of activity at (i) above. The SAR duly approved by the Board of the system providers should be submitted to the Reserve Bank not later than December 31, 2018.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·