RBI Depositor Education & Awareness Fund Financial Assistance : Reserve Bank of India

Organisation : Reserve Bank of India
Scholarship Name : Depositor Education & Awareness Fund Financial Assistance
Website : https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=32978
Application Form : https://www.scholarships.net.in/uploads/18469-Guide.PDF

Depositor Education & Awareness Fund :

To grant financial assistance to institutions/ organisations/ associations for taking up various activities relating to promoting bank depositors’ education and awareness.

Related : RBI Scholarship Scheme 2017 For Faculty Members From Academic Institutions : www.scholarships.net.in/13288.html

Entities eligible for Registration:
A. The following entities will be considered for registration:
The institutions/ organisations/ associations already engaged in activities relating to bank depositors’ education and awareness or proposing to take up depositors’ education programmes, organising seminars, symposia, etc., including research activities, can be considered for assistance.

B. The institutions/ organisations/ associations may be:
(a) constituted as a public charitable trust,
(b) Registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860) or under any law corresponding to that Act in force in any part of India;
(c) Registered under the State Co-operative Societies Acts
(d) Registered under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (8 of 2013);
(e) A University established by law;
(f) Any other educational institution recognised by the Government or by any University established by law or affiliated to any University established by law;
(g) An institution wholly or partly financed by the Government or a local authority; or
(h) A Regimental Fund or Non-Public Fund established by the armed forces of the Union for the welfare of past or present members of such forces or their dependants.

Objectives:
To grant financial assistance to institutions/ organisations/ associations for taking up activities relating to promoting bank depositors’ education and awareness or taking up depositors’ education programmes, organising seminars, symposia, etc., including research activities.

Conditions required to be fulfilled by Eligible entities:
** The institutions/ organisations/ associations shall have rules, regulations and or bye-laws for the governance and management of the institutions/ organisations/ associations.
** These rules, regulations and/ or bye-laws should be in conformity with the conditions of registration.
** The institutions/ organisations/ associations shall be managed by a Governing Board/Management Committee. Further, the bye-laws or objectives of the institution/organisation/association should not contain any provision for spending their income or assets for purposes other than “charitable purposes“.
** The institutions/ organisations/ associations shall have a minimum of 20 members and should have a clean track record.
** For companies registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 or Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, besides the requirement of minimum 20 shareholders/ members, it is necessary for it to have a well-diversified shareholding, at least 3 independent directors, good corporate governance and audit committee.
** This requirement can be applied at the level of the applicant company or its promoter company.
** The institutions/ organisations/ associations, shall unless specific exemption has been made in this regard by the Committee, be in existence for a minimum period of 5 years prior to date of application for registration.
** Out of these 5 years, the entities should have track record of the last 3 years in the area of consumer protection/awareness.

Scope of activities:
The scope of activities for which financial assistance would be provided by the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund are as follows:
** Conducting programmes/events for educating or spreading awareness among the excluded sections of the society, about benefits of financial literacy, information about various products available on various channels explaining the procedure/formalities, etc., for enrolment and actual opening of accounts in association with recognised Depositors’ associations/ NGOs etc.
** Holding seminars and symposia for depositors/ depositors’ associations for imparting financial literacy including safe and secure banking.
** Funding projects and research activities relating to depositors’ education, rights awareness, etc.
** Production/ Procurement of material for distribution at exhibitions, seminars, town hall events, outreach programmes conducted for depositors’ awareness.
** Running Media Campaigns on financial literacy, customer protection, etc.
** Other consumer protection/awareness related programmes.

This is only an indicative list in terms of Section 26A(4) of the BR Act, 1949 and the Reserve Bank may consider such other activities which it may deem necessary for furthering the objectives of the Fund from time to time

Project plan and financial assistance:
A registered institution/ organisation/ association, having a viable project /proposal on Bank Depositors’ Education and Awareness, may be eligible for assistance from the Fund. The registered entities may apply for financial assistance giving details of their proposed projects including the estimated cost of the project and the assistance required.

Institutions or organizations or associations registered/ recognized by the Committee may be considered for grant-in-aid as a onetime measure or in stages by way of reimbursement, depending upon the nature of activity proposed.

Other conditions :
** The institution/ organization/ association should not be for the benefit of any particular individual, religion, community, or caste.
** The institutions/ organizations/ associations should undertake that they will utilize the money received from the Fund only for the activities permitted by the Reserve Bank/Fund and expenses incidental thereto, and not for any other purpose.
** The institutions/ organizations/ associations should undertake to make available to the Fund/Reserve Bank/representative of the Reserve Bank all books and accounts kept by them with regard to the grants received from the Fund and the method of expenditure of the same.
** The institutions/ organizations/ associations, who have received financial assistance from the Fund, shall submit a report certified by a Chartered Accountant regarding the expenditure made by them for depositor education and awareness activities.

Procedure for application:
An application has to be made in the prescribed format which has been placed at Annex. In addition, the applicants would be required to furnish the requisite document/ information in support of their shareholding pattern, membership, financial statements, list of sanctions/grants received from State/Central Govt. during the last five years, etc., as per the list of documents indicated in the application form.

Applications for registration along with other details should be addressed to:
The Chief General Manager,
Department of Banking Regulation,
Reserve Bank of India, Central Office,
12th Floor, Central Office Building,
Shahid Bhagat Singh Road,
Mumbai – 400001