service delivery. technology has helped banks to reach the doorsteps of the customer by overcoming the limitations on geographical / physical reach in branch banking and easing the resource and volume constraints posed by the brick and mortar model. all the stakeholders have benefitted from the expansion of delivery channels, product innovation and efficiency enhancement which have been facilitated by technology adoption. banks, however, need to guard against losing personal touch with their customers in such technology driven environment as this would result in their losing valuable information needed for their business. overall, technology that began its journey in indian banking as an enabler, has now become a business driver, and is poised to be an inseparable part of banking business process. this journey has come to the present stage by virtue of the push given by the reserve bank and the whole hearted co - operation by industry participants. reserve bank and banking technology reserve bank of india started this push with the rangarajan committee report i & ii on computerization in banks, followed by saraf and vasudevan committee reports. some of the significant developments during this journey have been introduction of micr based bis central bankers ’ speeches cheque clearing, automation of bank branches, computerization of govt. business, setting up of idrbt, commissioning of infinet, launching of it based delivery channels, providing guidelines for internet banking, implementation of nfs etc. the role played by the reserve bank continues. as you all know, rbi has recently released an it vision document 2011 – 17, which identifies the key focus areas for banks in india. the document indicates the significance to be accorded to the enhanced use of it in areas like mis, regulatory reporting, financial inclusion along with the need for appropriate risk mitigation measures and business continuity management. it envisages banks to work towards utilising technology for cost reduction of small value transactions, improved customer services and effective flow of information within the banks and to the regulator. the document emphasizes the need to move towards integrated it environment for tapping the synergistic benefits of holistic system implementation. setting up of idrbt – contribution in banking technology & research setting up of the institute for development and research in banking technology ( idrbt ), hyderabad in the mid nineties, as a research and technology centre for the banking sector was a major step to facilitate and support the “ technological revolution ” in banking. it was set up in the year 1994 as an apex level institute for spearheading technology absorption in the indian

banking and the financial sector. it focuses on the training, research and development activities in the field of information technology. the commissioning of infinet as the backbone for financial communication has been a major achievement for idrbt. idrbt also acts as a certifying authority ( ca ) for issuance of digital certificates for players in the banking and financial sector. structured financial messaging system ( sfms ), a secure and common domestic financial messaging solution for intra - bank and interbank applications, developed on the lines of swift was the brainchild of idrbt. idrbt has also been active in dynamically assessing the needs of the banking community and in organizing trainings and workshops in relevant it related areas to address such needs. it has been performing its designated role as an important component of rbi ’ s banking technology push and continues with its endeavor. reaching for the skies – banking technology excellence awards institution of the excellence awards is a step in the direction of encouraging effective adoption of technology by banks. instituted in the year 2001, with the primary objective of encouraging and recognizing excellence in implementation of technology for better customer service, operational efficiency and expansion of banking services to the hitherto uncovered sections of society, the category of awards has been changing with the change in the technology deployment focus from time to time. this year, banks have been divided into two categories – large and small, to enhance the spirit of “ sporting competition ” amongst banks by ensuring a level playing field. ii. alignment of technology and business objectives – critical issues having given the background of the role of technology in banking development and the role essayed by reserve bank and idrbt, i would now like to touch upon a few focus areas in the business - technology alignment which could become critical in our journey in pursuit of technological excellence. leveraging technology for financial inclusion – the journey so far, introspection and way ahead banking, as all of us know, is an industry that provides vital service and support to the economic and financial sectors. as such, it has to cater to all the diverse segments of bis central bankers ’ speeches society. however, more than 50 per cent of the adult population in our country is still excluded from the financial sector. it is not just people in the rural areas ; many of the lower income categories of the urban population are also excluded from the banking fold. this is largely because of the way the supply of such services is organized. our existing banking business model has done laudable work in