Referring to the statement made by Dr D Subbarao, Governor Reserve Bank of India that Islamic Banking is not possible in the present Indian banking regulations, H Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF), in a letter to Dr Subbarao, said that several secular, modern and industrialised countries have accommodated Islamic finance and banking within the conventional banking regulations which are similar to ours. Such countries include the UK, France, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.
“It is requested that without waiting for the government to take a political decision, RBI under your dynamic leadership should start a pilot project/ window for which ICIF has submitted a detailed project to both RBI as well as the Finance Ministry,” says the letter. “The marginalised and the minorities – the aamaadmi who is outside the banking and financial sector look forward for this alternative banking system which is participatory and risk sharing model that will go a long way for inclusive growth of this neglected segment,” it added.