Ex-RBI Prem Kumar Arora appointed DLAI's director of policy, strategy

New Delhi: The Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) has appointed former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official Prem Kumar Arora as director of policy and strategy, President Anurag Jain told The Economic Times, at a time when the digital lending sector is facing heat from regulators and the public.

The specially created position is significant as the digital lending industry faces challenges around unethical collection practices, high-interest rates, fraud, and data risks.

Arora is expected to use his expertise in regulation and supervision to guide DLAI's recommendations to the banking regulator’s recently set up working group to regulate digital lending through mobile applications, amid growing concerns around the unsupervised growth of loan platforms across the country.


“The proliferation of lending apps in the last couple of years has basically shown that we are moving towards a more digital world,” Jain said. The industry needs to grow responsibly and there has to be a proper resolution of all issues plaguing the sector, he added.

Understanding the root cause of the challenges facing the industry was critical and framing need-based recommendations for RBI’s working committee would be Arora’s top priority, Jain said.

Arora has collaborated with the finance ministry on banking policy initiatives in the past.