Justice B.N. Srikrishna to Lead Advisory Board of Equal and OneMoney

Retired Justice B.N. Srikrishna has been appointed as the Chairman of the newly established Advisory Board for Equal, an identity verification and data-sharing platform, and its strategic investee, OneMoney, an account aggregator. This appointment aligns with the government’s recent release of the draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, signaling a stronger regulatory push for data security and privacy.

Advisory Board Composition

The Advisory Board comprises distinguished leaders from various sectors:

Justice B.N. Srikrishna: Former Supreme Court Judge and eminent authority on data protection.

Jagdish Capoor: Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), known for his work in banking regulations.

Rakesh Mohan: Former Deputy Governor of the RBI and a leading voice in economic policy and monetary strategy.

Anand Sinha: Former Deputy Governor of the RBI, with deep insights into banking sector reforms and financial regulation.

J. Satyanarayana: Former Chairman of UIDAI, pioneer of e-governance and digital infrastructure.

Ajay Prakash Sawhney: Former Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, instrumental in shaping India’s digital transformation through public platforms like UPI and Digilocker.

P.H. Ravikumar: Founding CEO of NCDEX and a seasoned leader in India’s financial services sector.

Anitha Ramachandran: Independent Director on multiple Boards, and HR expert.

Sunil Kulkarni: Fintech expert and advisor with over three decades of leadership in digital banking and payment solutions.

Role and Objectives

The Advisory Board will guide Equal and OneMoney in key areas, including:

Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to evolving data protection laws and regulations.

Ethical Data Practices: Promoting responsible and transparent data usage.

Governance Frameworks: Establishing robust structures for data management and security.

Technological Innovation: Encouraging the development of secure, consent-driven data-sharing solutions.

About Equal and OneMoney

Equal, founded in 2022 by Keshav Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan, offers identity authentication services by integrating over 50 identity databases and more than 4,000 API providers. Its clients include WeWork, L&T, TVS, Aragen, Emri, Achala, and Hetero. In August 2024, Equal made a strategic investment in OneMoney, an RBI-licensed account aggregator platform, enhancing its consent-based financial data-sharing services. Together, they have enabled over 75 million monthly transactions and serve over 250 clients.

Summary of the news

Why in News	Key Points
Justice B.N. Srikrishna appointed Chairperson of Equal’s Advisory Board	– Retired Supreme Court Justice B.N. Srikrishna to chair Equal’s Advisory Board. – Appointed due to his significant role in India’s data protection laws. – Equal is an identity verification firm, and OneMoney is its strategic investee. – The appointment coincides with India’s push for strong data protection frameworks.
Advisory Board Members	– Includes distinguished figures like: 1. Jagdish Capoor: Former RBI Deputy Governor. 2. Rakesh Mohan: Former RBI Deputy Governor. 3. Anand Sinha: Former RBI Deputy Governor. 4. J. Satyanarayana: Former UIDAI Chairman. 5. Ajay Prakash Sawhney: Former Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT. 6. P.H. Ravikumar: Former NCDEX CEO.
Equal and OneMoney	– Equal offers identity verification services integrating 50+ identity databases and 4,000+ API providers. – Clients include WeWork, L&T, TVS, Aragen, and more. – OneMoney is a data-sharing platform licensed by RBI as an account aggregator.
Government’s Digital Push	– The advisory board will guide Equal and OneMoney on regulatory compliance and ethical data practices, crucial for India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Data Protection Act	– India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act drafted by Justice Srikrishna’s committee in 2018.
Key Dates	– Equal founded in 2022 by Keshav Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan. – Equal made a strategic investment in OneMoney in August 2024.