India central bank head says AI can approve loans humans would have turned down, says the technology is, 'a capability to be responsibly harnessed and not merely as a risk to be contained'

Person holding money.

• RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra tells banks that AI trained on alternative data such as cash flows, GST filings, and utility payments can extend credit to borrowers that manual underwriting cannot currently assess
• The pitch came bundled with caution, insisting that banks take safety and visibility measures including complete AI inventories, red-teaming before deployment, and the capacity to explain lending and fraud decisions
• The RBI insists, however, that accountability stays human; banks, not their algorithms, will be answerable to customers, auditors, and the Reserve Bank when AI-driven decisions go wrong

The governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has told the country's banks to put artificial intelligence at the heart of their lending patterns.