Financial AI applications must be designed in such a way to avoid inadvertent destabilisation of markets: RBI DG

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor T. Rabi Sankar

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar on October 7 said that financial artificial intelligence applications in particular must be designed such that they cannot inadvertently destabilise markets, or payment systems, or consumer confidence.

This approach demands safety by design rather than safety as an after-thought, he added.

“Safeguards must be embedded throughout the lifecycle from conception, data training to model validation and real-world application. Retrofitting safety once it has materialized is inadequate and potentially destabilising,” Sankar said while addressing at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai.

He added that through planning and guidance, and structured engagement with industry, the RBI aims to foster an ecosystem where people can be aware of the security of the fact that people are in danger and the RBI has always fostered innovation with guidance, with good guardrails.

“The objective is not to obstruct innovation, but to ensure that its application never compromises the stability or integrity of the system,” Sankar said.

Sankar shared five guide posts for the industry like trust, confidence, training, technology for good, and togetherness.