Agartala, Mar 26, 2023, TRIPURA TIMES Desk

Agartala, Mar 26: Reserve Bank of India, Agartala conducted a Town Hall meeting on Forex, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Financial Literacy in coordination with Reserve Bank of India, Guwahati at Muktadhara Auditorium on Saturday. The participants were bankers, Forex dealers, Importers and Exporters, MSME Entrepreneurs, SHG members and common people.

Manoj Kumar Kulkarni. Manager, RBI Agartala was the anchor of the entire event. The first half of the event was designed to make the audience aware of RBI regulations regarding import and export and facilities available to them. The other half was focused on linking the unbanked entrepreneurs to the formal banking system. It was also intended to obtain feedback from the entrepreneurs on the problems faced by them in accessing bank finance and providing a forum for a two-way communication amongst the stakeholders.

Manoj K. Moon, Assistant General Manager, RBI, in his opening remarks, welcomed the guests and participants. He highlighted the significance of Town Hall Meeting on MSME related issues and the various enabling policy measures taken by RBI. He stressed on the need for wider coordination amongst all the stakeholders and encouraged the entrepreneurs to start their own businesses based on the learning of this meeting.

Abhyudoy Guha, Assistant Commissioner, Customs Department, in his address, apprised audience of the opportunities available in export businesses in Tripura. He stressed on the importance of thinking out-of-the-box, which would help flourish the exports of the State.

Saba Shaikh, DGM Foreign Exchange Department, RBI Guwahati addressed the gathering and emphasized on Foreign Exchange business. She said the Forex business will play a vital role in the development of any state. She has requested the people of Tripura to start exporting their products to the various states or country, for that we need to adopt new methods of business and be a part of country's best products list. 

Manoj Pati, Manager, RBI, disseminated the operational guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India for managing forex operations in the country. He also highlighted the features of FEMA Act 1999, and informed the participants about several facilities available for import and export
Argha Banerjee, Manager, RBI Agartala delivered a session on MSME lending, disseminated the Financial Literacy awareness messages to the members of the public and RBI's initiative for wider coverage of Financial Literacy across the country by engaging NGO's. The Pilot Project I:e opening of Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) centres across the country, various initiatives on digitalisation of payment and government schemes.

The event ended with a question-and-answer session. The innovative and interactive sessions kept the audience engaged throughout the programme. The initiative by RBI Agartala was widely appreciated by the participants.