DLAI appoints ex-RBI exec Prem Kumar Arora as director of policy, strategy

The Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) has appointed former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) executive Prem Kumar Arora as director of policy and strategy.

Arora has over 34 years of experience in regulation and supervision of banks with RBI where he retired as chief general manager in 2016.

Some of the notable projects he was part of include the banking ombudsman scheme (2017), formulation of banking policy for co-operative banks (2015), supervision and licensing of NBFCs (2007) with onsite and off- site supervision of NBFCs, according to a statement.

Post retirement, Arora has been actively engaged in establishment of an Umbrella Organization (UO) for urban co-operative banks in India.

“Given the sheer size of the industry, Prem Arora’s appointment will help us navigate through the challenges faced by the industry and will facilitate coordination and communication with the regulators/government bodies to help shape the broad contours of the digital lending landscape,” Anurag Jain, president, DLAI and founder, KredX, said.

The DLAI was established in 2016 to set up an ecosystem to connect digital lenders and its associated players with each other. Its members collectively serve more than 4 million borrowers in India and have issued loans amounting to nearly $6-7 billion in the financial year prior to COVID-19 pandemic, the association claims. It represents more than 80 digital lenders and associated services firms including Lendingkart, Zest Money, Capital Float, IndiaLends, Kredx, Incred, and EarlySalary.

After the onset of Corona, the industry body had reached out to RBI several times demanding the moratorium benefits provided to private sector banks.