RBI Appoints Suman Ray as Executive Director to Oversee DICGC and Premises Department

The Reserve Bank of India appointed Suman Ray as Executive Director (ED) with effect from 1 September 2026. He will be in charge of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) and the Premises Department at the RBI’s Central Office in Mumbai. Prior to this elevation, Ray served as Regional Director for Maharashtra and brings more than three decades of experience as a career central banker.

Who Is Suman Ray and What Is His New Role?

The RBI announced on 1 September 2026 that Suman Ray had taken charge as Executive Director. Executive Director is a senior leadership position in the RBI, ranking just below the Deputy Governors and reporting to the Governor through the central board structure. EDs head one or more central office departments and are responsible for day to day policy execution and supervision.

Ray is a career central banker with more than 30 years in the Reserve Bank. His work has spanned currency management, financial inclusion, payment and settlement systems, consumer education and protection, and human resource management. He has also served as Secretary to the Western Area Local Board, one of the four local boards that advise the Central Board on regional matters.

In his new assignment, Ray has been allocated two portfolios. These are the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI, and the Premises Department, which manages the RBI’s physical infrastructure. His office is located on the 9th floor of the Central Office Building on Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai 400001. The other portfolios earlier held alongside DICGC and Premises, such as Human Resource Management Department and Secretary’s Department, now remain with other Executive Directors after the internal reshuffle.

What Is the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation?

The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) is the institution that insures bank deposits in India. Its full form explains its two original mandates, deposit insurance and credit guarantee, though today deposit insurance is its principal function. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, with its head office in Mumbai and an Executive Director in overall charge of day to day operations. Day to day work is organised into four departments, Accounts, Deposit Insurance, Credit Guarantee and Administration, under senior officers.

DICGC’s mission is to contribute to financial stability by securing public confidence in the banking system, especially for small depositors. Its vision is to be recognised as one of the most efficient and effective deposit insurance providers. The general superintendence of the Corporation vests in a Board of Directors under Section 5 of the DICGC Act, 1961.

Evolution and Legal Framework of DICGC

The need for deposit insurance emerged after the failure of Laxmi Bank and Palai Central Bank in 1960. The Deposit Insurance Corporation (DIC) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 21 August 1961 and received Presidential assent on 7 December 1961. The DIC commenced functioning on 1 January 1962, with its first Board headed by Governor H. V. R. Iyengar. India became the second country in the world to introduce deposit insurance after the United States in 1933.

Key milestones after that include:

The Corporation is governed by the DICGC Act, 1961 and the DICGC General Regulations, 1961 framed by the RBI under Section 50(3) of the Act. It maintains three funds, the Deposit Insurance Fund, the Credit Guarantee Fund and the General Fund, as required under Sections 22 to 24 of the Act. Its authorised capital is ₹1 crore, which the Central Government may increase in consultation with the RBI up to ₹50 crore, and the entire issued capital is allotted to the RBI. The RBI also advances funds to the Corporation when needed under Section 26.

How Does DICGC Deposit Insurance Work?

What is DICGC insurance cover? DICGC insures all deposits such as savings, fixed, current and recurring deposits. The insurance limit is ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank, covering both principal and interest, for deposits held in the same right and same capacity aggregated across all branches of the same bank. For example, if a person has ₹4,95,000 as principal and ₹4,000 as accrued interest, the insured amount is ₹4,99,000, but if principal alone is ₹5 lakh, additional interest beyond the cap is not insured.

Which banks are covered and which are not? All commercial banks including branches of foreign banks in India, local area banks and regional rural banks are covered. All State, Central and Primary cooperative banks (also called urban cooperative banks) in states that have amended their Cooperative Societies Acts to empower RBI to order winding up are also covered. At present, all cooperative banks are covered. Primary cooperative societies are not insured. Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), deposits of Central or State Governments, deposits of foreign governments, inter bank deposits, deposits received outside India, and amounts specifically exempted with RBI approval are not covered.

Is DICGC applicable to payment banks and small finance banks? Small finance banks are commercial banks and are covered. Payment banks are also insured banks, but for premium purposes they continue at the flat card rate due to limited data, and account for less than 1 percent of premium collected. NBFCs and post office savings are not covered under DICGC.

Who pays the premium? The premium is borne entirely by the insured bank, not the depositor. The cost is not passed on directly. Banks pay premium on total assessable deposits as on the last day of the preceding half year. Earlier the flat rate was 12 paise per ₹100 of assessable deposits per annum.

When does DICGC pay? DICGC becomes liable in three situations, liquidation of an insured bank, reconstruction or amalgamation or merger of an insured bank, and imposition of All Inclusive Directions that restrict depositors from accessing deposits. In liquidation, DICGC pays the liquidator within two months of receiving the claim list, and the liquidator disburses to depositors. In reconstruction or amalgamation, it pays the difference between the insured amount and what the depositor gets under the scheme. Under Section 18A, effective 1 September 2021, for banks under AID, the insured bank must submit the depositor list within 45 days of AID imposition, DICGC verifies within 30 days, and pays within 15 days thereafter, so that total time from AID to payment does not exceed 90 days.

What about joint accounts? Accounts held in the same capacity and same right are aggregated. If three individuals A, B and C hold multiple joint accounts in the same order of names, they are treated as one capacity and get one cover of ₹5 lakh. If the order differs, such as A, B and C versus C, B and A, or the group of persons differs, they are treated as different rights and each joint account gets separate cover up to ₹5 lakh.

Risk Based Premium Framework from 1 April 2026

Until 2025, DICGC charged a flat rate premium of 12 paise per ₹100 of assessable deposits. The DICGC Act, Section 15(1) always allowed differential premium, and the Central Board of RBI approved the Risk Based Premium (RBP) framework on 19 December 2025. DICGC, with RBI approval, notified insured banks and made the framework effective from 1 April 2026, with a review at least once in three years. A master direction of 1 October 2025 had already streamlined premium payment and return submission.

The new framework uses two models. Tier 1 Model applies to Scheduled Commercial Banks other than Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and is based on supervisory ratings, quantitative assessment using CAMELS parameters, and potential loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) if the bank fails. Tier 2 Model applies to RRBs and cooperative banks and is based on CAMELS parameters and potential loss to DIF.

Better rated banks get lower premium. The maximum risk model incentive is 33.33 percent over the card rate, and a vintage incentive up to 25 percent rewards banks that have contributed to DIF for a long time without causing claims. Banks must keep ratings confidential and not disclose them or the premium paid. Local Area Banks and Payment Banks continue to pay the 12 paise card rate for now due to limited data, and urban cooperative banks under Supervisory Action Framework or Prompt Corrective Action also continue at the card rate until the financial year after they exit the framework.

What Does the RBI Premises Department Do?

The Premises Department is the RBI department that creates and maintains physical infrastructure. Its mandate is to frame policies and guidelines on acquisition, construction, maintenance, consolidation and disposal of office and residential space in line with the Bank’s functions and human resource policies. It also handles modernisation and upgradation of workspace and residential utilities, allocates capital budgets to Regional Offices, and monitors high value works and projects of Estate Departments across India.

Ecological concerns are central to its work. The department promotes green building standards, technologies and materials, and drives energy and water conservation and auditing. Its current thrust areas include environmental consciousness, resource conservation and rationalisation of properties.

The department is headed by a Chief General Manager, currently Smt. K. Nikhila, Chief General Manager-in-Charge, based on the 5th floor, Central Office Building, Mumbai. It reports to the Executive Director in charge, now Suman Ray.

Recent performance shows the push for sustainability. In 2025-26, the RBI’s Annual Report noted that the department exceeded Utkarsh 2.0 targets. Green ratings were received for 11 office and 19 residential buildings against targets of 9 and 16, renewable energy usage reached 9.1 percent against a 7.5 percent target, and energy savings reached 14.5 percent against a 7.5 percent target. As of end March 2026, 29 office and 63 residential premises had solar installations with a combined capacity of 4,725 kWp. One new office building and one learning institute were completed in 2025-26, and land parcels were acquired for office construction at select locations.

For 2026-27, the department’s goals include ensuring sufficient residential space and advancing construction projects currently in planning at various regional offices.

How Is the RBI Organised and Where Does an Executive Director Fit?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central bank. It was established on 1 April 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, on the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission. The Central Office was initially in Kolkata and moved permanently to Mumbai in 1937, where the Governor sits and policies are formulated. Originally privately owned, the RBI has been fully owned by the Government of India since nationalisation in 1949. It is not a statutory body created separately, its powers flow from the RBI Act, and it is often described as an autonomous body in operational matters.

The RBI’s affairs are governed by a Central Board of Directors appointed under Section 8 of the RBI Act. The Board includes the Governor and up to four Deputy Governors as official directors, ten directors nominated from various fields, two government officials and four directors from Local Boards for Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern Areas. The Governor at present is Sanjay Malhotra, with Deputy Governors including Swaminathan J, Poonam Gupta, Shirish Chandra Murmu and Rohit Jain.

Below the Board, the hierarchy runs from Governor to Deputy Governors to Executive Directors to Principal Chief General Managers, Chief General Managers and other officers. Executive Directors are senior executives who head departments. As of 1 September 2026, the RBI website lists Suman Ray among more than a dozen serving EDs, alongside names such as Monisha Chakraborty, Ravi Shankar, Gunveer Singh, Usha Janakiraman, Sonali Sen Gupta, Sanjay Kumar Hansda, Kesavan Ramachandran and Indranil Bhattacharyya. Each ED is assigned a cluster of departments. For example, Neeraj Nigam earlier handled HR, DICGC, Premises and Secretary’s Department, while Kesavan Ramachandran handles Regulation and Indranil Bhattacharyya handles Monetary Policy. Suman Ray’s allocation to DICGC and Premises Department follows this pattern.

RBI Executive Director Appointment and Salary Context

RBI Executive Directors are career officers promoted from within, typically from the rank of Chief General Manager or Regional Director. The appointment is made by the RBI itself and notified through a press release from the Central Office. While the exact pay is not disclosed in the notification, the post carries the scale of a senior top executive in the central bank, with pay, allowances and facilities as per RBI service regulations. Searches on RBI executive director salary and pay scale reflect public interest in this senior grade, but the RBI does not publish individual salary slips, and remuneration is governed by internal service rules.

The RBI’s functions as monetary authority, regulator and supervisor of the financial system, manager of foreign exchange under FEMA 1999, issuer of currency, and regulator of payment and settlement systems are distributed across departments headed by these EDs, making the ED layer critical for execution.

Why This Appointment Matters for Depositors and Financial Stability

This appointment matters because the two portfolios Ray now holds sit at the intersection of depositor confidence and institutional capacity.

First, DICGC protects the ordinary depositor. With deposits in insured banks totalling several hundred lakh crore rupees, and an insured deposits ratio around 41 to 42 percent, the ₹5 lakh cover is the safety net that prevents panic when a bank faces stress. The Deposit Insurance Fund stood at about ₹2.62 lakh crore as of 31 March 2026, with nearly 1,950 insured banks. Timely payout under Section 18A within 90 days, and the new Risk Based Premium from April 2026, are designed to keep the fund strong and reward sound banks. An experienced ED is needed to oversee premium design, claim settlement discipline, and coordination with the Department of Supervision when banks are placed under All Inclusive Directions.

Second, the Premises Department shapes the RBI’s own operational resilience. From office and residential buildings to solar capacity and green ratings, physical infrastructure directly affects business continuity, security and sustainability goals under Utkarsh 2.0 and the emerging Utkarsh 2029 framework. Effective estate management also supports the RBI’s presence across regional offices and issue offices, including in states like Maharashtra where Ray served as Regional Director.

For depositors, the message is that the insurance cover of ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank remains fully in place, premium continues to be paid by banks, and claims remain subject to the statutory process. For the system, a veteran who has handled currency management, financial inclusion, payments, consumer protection and human resources brings a broad view of both front line banking risks and back office readiness.

Key Takeaways

• The RBI appointed Suman Ray as Executive Director with effect from 1 September 2026, assigning him the DICGC and Premises Department.
• Before elevation, Ray served as Regional Director for Maharashtra and has more than three decades of RBI experience across currency management, financial inclusion, payment systems, consumer protection and HR.
• DICGC, a wholly owned subsidiary of RBI headquartered in Mumbai, was formed on 1 January 1962 under the DICGC Act, 1961 and on 15 July 1978 after the merger of DIC and CGCI.
• DICGC insures ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank in the same right and same capacity, covering commercial and cooperative banks while NBFCs and government deposits are not covered.
• Under Section 18A (effective 1 September 2021), depositors of banks under All Inclusive Directions must be paid within 90 days, with the bank submitting the list in 45 days.
• A Risk Based Premium framework is effective from 1 April 2026, with Tier 1 for large commercial banks and Tier 2 for RRBs and cooperative banks, offering up to 33.33 percent risk incentive and 25 percent vintage incentive over the 12 paise per ₹100 card rate.
• The RBI, established on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934 and nationalised in 1949, is headquartered in Mumbai, and Executive Directors rank below Deputy Governors and head central office departments.