three important aspects to achieve the objective, which is integral in building a robust internal grievance redress framework. 1. firstly, the regulated entities should focus on providing adequate human resources and infrastructural support to the office of the internal ombudsman to function efficiently and effectively. regulated entities may also explore the possibility of periodical interaction with front line staff by the internal ombudsman to help them gain insights on the ground level implementation of grievance redress and plug the gaps identified. similarly, a regular interface of the internal ombudsman with product and business heads could also be held for discussing the grievance redress angle of specific activities and products of the regulated entity. 2. secondly, regulated entities should develop a comprehensive standard operating procedure ( sop ) for grievance redress based on the inputs received from their 3 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches 2. internal ombudsman as also the decisions of the rbi ombudsman. this is essential to establish an institutional memory of grievance redress modalities. the resulting sop can serve as an operational manual for both the incumbent and future internal ombudsman and their respective staff. 3. lastly, regulated entities should aim to ensure that all customer concerns are thoroughly addressed. the complaint management system of the regulated entities should be designed in such a way that all rejected or partially rejected complaints involving deficiency in service are auto escalated directly to the internal ombudsman without any manual intervention, thereby facilitating a secondary review by an impartial authority. recent regulatory development in internal ombudsman framework the reserve bank has institutionalized the internal ombudsman framework in banks, non - bank system participants, non - banking financial companies and credit information companies in various phases. recently, a review of the framework was undertaken by the reserve bank in line with the integration of the erstwhile three rbi ombudsman schemes with the objective to improve the customer service standards in the regulated entities. a comprehensive master direction was issued in december 2023 to harmonise the instructions applicable to the various regulated entities. this master direction factored inputs from several sources including takeaways from the last internal ombudsman conference. it establishes consistency in various aspects, such as the timeframe for escalating complaints to the internal ombudsman, specific exclusions from such escalation, guidelines for temporary absence of internal ombudsman, minimum qualifications for

partner in the continuous improvement of the regulated entity's practices, fostering a culture of responsiveness and excellence in customer service. guiding the regulated entities in mitigating the complaints finally, internal ombudsman, on a periodical basis, should proactively provide their inputs on the patterns of complaints received, and guide the regulated entity in taking 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches remedial measures to address recurring complaints. i believe this to be one of the most crucial aspects of the role of internal ombudsman in contributing to a more responsive and consumer - centric operational framework within the regulated entity. role of the regulated entities while i have spoken at length on the role of the internal ombudsman, the role played by the board and management of regulated entity is also important to ensure the effectiveness of this function. it is often observed that the regulated entities are materially compliant with the letter of the regulations on internal ombudsman, but the expected outcome of the scheme remains below potential. this also manifests in the ever - rising trend of complaints against the regulated entities under alternate grievance redress mechanism of the reserve bank. many of these complaints escalated to the rbi ombudsman could have very well been resolved by the regulated entity itself. at times there is a perception that the internal ombudsman, acting independently to address customer grievances, could introduce complexities or delays into the streamlined functioning of the business. as a result, some entities do not escalate the complaints to io thereby making a sub - optimal use of the mechanism. however, it is important to recognize that the role of the internal ombudsman is not intended to impede but rather to ensure fairness, transparency, and adherence to regulatory standards. regulated entities must appreciate that a well - functioning internal ombudsman mechanism is beneficial for all stakeholders. apart from reducing the hassles of customers needing to approach alternate fora, it safeguards the regulated entity from reputation risk by reducing the chances of rejections of genuine grievances being subsequently overturned by alternate grievance redressal for a such as the rbi ombudsman. therefore, i would urge regulated entities to make efforts to reorient their grievance redress framework to support the internal ombudsman mechanism which would ensure smooth functioning of the overall internal grievance redress process in the regulated entities. here, i would recommend the regulated entities to focus on