participants, with no recourse to roll back or reversal of transactions. the payment and settlement systems act also mandated the reserve bank to regulate payment and settlement systems, encompassing not only the system providers – which are most often the commercial banks – but also intermediaries as well as technology providers. we have just begun the process of authorisation of payment systems. hopefully this will instil greater confidence amongst the users of such systems, in addition to ensuring that the systems are robust and well designed, based on sound principles of optimal risk management. we also believe they provide for high levels of reliability of operations and are in compliance with international requirements for combating money laundering. to aid the reserve bank in managing this task of payments and settlements, a board for regulation of payment and settlement systems ( bpss ), comprising both the rbi management and external experts, was established. international experts, who have reviewed our legal framework and implementation systems, have endorsed the scope and coverage of the payment and settlement systems act. recent initiatives and innovations safety is at the heart of payment systems. recognising its importance, the reserve bank took the early initiative for creating a guaranteed platform for systemically important payment systems. the result was the establishment of the clearing corporation of india ltd ( ccil ) in 2001. the ccil is owned and managed by commercial banks, and the reserve bank has no direct stake. you will recognise that this arms - length relationship is in accordance with the principles of good corporate governance. the ccil functions as a central counter party ( ccp ) for select categories of transactions such as those in government bonds, inter - bank foreign exchange market, call money market, etc., thus effectively managing, and mitigating, the counterparty risks arising out of possible default by any constituent. the ccil platforms are all fully electronic with high levels of operational security and provide straight through processing ( stp ). this is a unique initiative and has been widely acclaimed as a success. this infrastructure has efficiently mitigated counter party risks in over - the - counter ( otc ) markets – which, you will note, were at the root of the crisis in the credit derivatives segment in the current global financial turmoil. the reserve bank was instrumental in establishing in 1999 the indian financial network ( or infinet ). the infinet, similar to the s. w. i. f. t., is a platform for domestic transmission of inter - bank messages in electronic mode. the

to address their unique features while also being mindful of the systemic impact ; and k – knowledge – to enable knowledge - based decisions in a knowledge - powered economy, resulting in scientifically - engineered and output - oriented action. all the above efforts are aimed at providing a better risk management framework. retail payments hold the key to the value chain as economies achieve progress in today ’ s complex world. innovation, risk management, effort and increased international co - operation will be the key to success. i hope you all profited from your participation in this seminar, and more importantly, enjoyed spending the last three days here in mamallapuram. for my part, i must say that i greatly enjoyed being here.