Amit Shah Launches ‘Bank in a Box’ for UCBs
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has launched a series of technology and cybersecurity initiatives aimed at strengthening and modernising India’s Urban Cooperative Banks, including ‘Bank in a Box’ and a dedicated Security Operations Centre (SOC).
The initiatives were unveiled during the ‘Sahkar Nav-Kranti’ programme at the BSE International Convention Centre in Mumbai, where Shah also inaugurated the new premises of the National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC).
‘Bank in a Box’ is an integrated technology platform designed to provide Urban Cooperative Banks with access to core banking services, digital payments, cloud infrastructure and regulatory compliance solutions. The objective is to enable even smaller and single-branch cooperative banks to adopt modern banking technology without having to make substantial individual investments in infrastructure.
Under the wider NUCFDC framework, additional services being developed include Sahkar CBS, shared payment services, a loan origination system, Sahkar Cloud, AI-based fraud prevention, group cyber insurance, Aadhaar-based services and automated regulatory compliance facilities.
A dedicated Security Operations Centre has also been launched to provide participating UCBs with 24×7 cyber monitoring and security support. Shah urged cooperative banks to join the SOC, highlighting the growing importance of cybersecurity as banking services become increasingly digital.
NUCFDC has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) to strengthen cybersecurity, digital forensics, training and research capabilities across the Urban Cooperative Banking network.
The Umbrella Organisation will additionally support UCBs in complying with Reserve Bank of India regulations, employee training and adoption of technology solutions such as MuleHunter, which can help identify suspicious transactions and possible mule accounts.
According to Shah, around 1,400 Urban Cooperative Banks operate across India and together hold approximately ₹6 lakh crore in deposits. So far, about 650 banks, representing nearly half of the sector, have joined the Umbrella Organisation. The government has called for all 1,400 UCBs to become members within the next year.
NUCFDC has mobilised around ₹306 crore in capital to establish its operations and infrastructure. Its shared-services model is intended to reduce technology and compliance costs by negotiating common contracts rather than requiring each cooperative bank to procure expensive systems independently.
The initiative comes alongside a number of regulatory reforms for Urban Cooperative Banks. These include allowing UCBs to open up to 15% additional branches without separate permission, reducing the Priority Sector Lending target from 75% to 60%, increasing housing loan limits and extending the One-Time Settlement facility to the sector.
The launch of shared technology, cybersecurity and compliance infrastructure could be particularly important for smaller UCBs, which often face higher relative costs in maintaining advanced digital platforms and meeting expanding regulatory and cyber-risk requirements.
