Descriptive Prep: Brajesh Mohan

RBI launches Q-SAFE committee to gear up to protect against Quantum risks The Reserve Bank of India has announced the formation of an Expert Committee for the Quantum Secure and Adaptive Financial Ecosystem (Q-SAFE), a strategic initiative aimed at preparing India’s financial sector for the opportunities and risks emerging from quantum technologies. The FinTech Department, Central Office, RBI, will provide secretarial support to the Committee. The Committee may also invite domain experts, industry representatives, RBI departments and other stakeholders, as may be required, for consultation and participation in its deliberations. Quantum technology is increasingly being viewed as the next major technological disruption after artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Unlike classical computing systems, quantum systems leverage principles such as superposition and entanglement, enabling them to process highly complex calculations at unprecedented speeds. In the financial sector, this capability could transform areas such as portfolio optimisation, fraud detection, macroeconomic modelling, high-frequency trading, and advanced risk analytics. However, the same technology also poses a serious challenge to existing cybersecurity systems. Many of today’s encryption standards , which secure banking transactions, payment systems, customer data, and digital identities , could eventually become vulnerable to powerful quantum computers. The committee will be convened by Dr. Anil Prabhakar, Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and includes key members such as Sunil Kumar from the Department of Science & Technology, Satish Rao Nagesh from State Bank of India, Dilip Asbe from National Payments Corporation of India, and representatives from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Data Security Council of India, and quantum technology experts from industry. One of its most important responsibilities will be evaluating the financial sector’s existing cryptographic inventory through a Cryptography Bill of Materials (CBOM). This process will help identify systems, applications, and digital infrastructure that are vulnerable to future quantum attacks.

RBI Grade B Success Story Ep-01: Shashank| RBI Grade B 2025 | Strategy | Experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEdhW9YIYdQ

Gross FDI into India hit new record of $95 billion in FY26, but net inflows only $7.7 billion ♦️Gross FDI: India saw gross Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows rise to a new record high of $94.53 billion in 2025-26, up 17% from the previous year, although the net figure was a mere $7.65 billion, data released on Friday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. At $94.53 billion, the gross FDI inflows last year comfortably exceeded the previous record of $84.84 billion posted in 2021-22. ♦️Net FDI: Net FDI is calculated after adjusting gross FDI for investments that are repatriated by foreign companies and overseas investments made by Indian companies. Despite record gross FDI inflows, the net figure has been low in the past two years due to foreign investors taking back money they had previously invested in India. This repatriation can be in the form of profits, dividend, or sale of assets. Meanwhile, Indian companies have also invested more abroad. In 2025-26, foreigners’ repatriations stood at $53.58 billion Net FDI = Gross FDI - [Foreign companies taking profits abroad on previous investments made in India + Indian companies investing abroad] $7.65 B = $94.5 B - [$53.58 + $33.3 B] (2025-26) ♦️Monthly Context Recent Trend: Net FDI remained positive for two consecutive months ending in March 2026. March 2026 Performance: Net FDI was $1.57 billion, marking a turnaround from the $502 million outflow recorded in March 2025. February 2026 Turnaround: Net FDI turned positive in February at $4.44 billion, ending a six-month streak of negative territory. ♦️Key Reasons for Lower Net FDI Rising Repatriation: Including disinvestment by foreign investors limiting net inflows; repatriation is a sign of mature market where investors can enter/exit smoothly. It Remained elevated at $53.58 billion, which limited the total growth in net FDI. Portfolio Investment: Experienced a sharp decline, recording a net outflow of $16.67 billion (driven by foreign portfolio investor outflows of $15.50 billion). Higher Overseas Direct Investment (ODI): Overseas expansion of domestic firms and their integration into global value chains; stronger corporate balance sheets, liberalised ODI framework (2022). Indian firms increased their direct investment abroad to $33.29 billion during the year. Geopolitical Headwinds: Geopolitical strife and tightening financial conditions have cooled greenfield project announcements globally.