About the Bureau
An independent desk for citizens whose complaints to banks, card issuers, lenders, insurers and public offices have gone unanswered, or have been answered without reasons.
Constitution
गठनThe Citizen Grievance Bureau was established in 2026 for citizens whose complaints to banks, card issuers, financial institutions, insurers and public offices have gone unanswered, or have been answered without reasons. It serves farmers, drivers and transporters, small traders, salaried families and pensioners, who hold the rights the rules confer but rarely the means to press them.
The Bureau does not adjudicate disputes. Its function is narrower and more exacting: to place each grievance, in proper form, before the officer or forum that the governing rules make answerable for it, and to see that each lapse of time is recorded and acted upon until a reasoned answer is given.
Institutions maintain grievance officers, nodal officers and appellate channels because the law requires them to. The Bureau ensures those channels are used, in sequence and on the record, for the people they were created to serve.
Mandate
अधिदेशThe functions the Bureau performs for a citizen who registers a grievance.
- 2.1
To register grievances against banks, card issuers, non-banking financial companies, insurers, service providers and public offices, and to allot each a Registry Number.
- 2.2
To explain to the citizen, in Hindi, English or any other language the citizen prefers, the notices, statements and agreements in the citizen's possession, and the remedies the governing rules provide.
- 2.3
To issue formal representations to the designated grievance officer of the respondent, under a Letter of Authority executed by the citizen and confined to the registered matter.3
- 2.4
To record the date on which each reply falls due, and to escalate on lapse to the Nodal Officer, the Principal Nodal Officer and the regulator or competent public authority.
- 2.5
To assist the citizen to file before the RBI Ombudsman, the Insurance Ombudsman, CPGRAMS, a State grievance portal or the District Consumer Commission, as the matter requires.4
- 2.6
To refer an eligible citizen to the District Legal Services Authority where the matter must proceed beyond the grievance route.5
- 2.7
To place before the citizen, unaltered, any proposal of settlement received from a respondent. The decision to accept or reject rests with the citizen alone.
Limits of the mandate
अधिदेश की सीमाएँWhat the Bureau undertakes, and what it will not do in any circumstance.
The Bureau shall
- Record each grievance with its dates, documents and correspondence.
- Cite by name the provisions that bind the respondent.
- Correspond in writing, with the citizen in copy.
- Escalate each lapse of time to the next answerable authority.
- Place an unresolved matter before the competent forum.
- Refer eligible citizens to the Legal Services Authority.
- Hold the citizen's documents in confidence and erase them after closure.
- Close a matter only on a reasoned answer or a forum's decision.
The Bureau shall not
- Adjudicate a dispute or decide which party is right.
- Give legal advice or appear before any court or tribunal.
- Act in any matter without a signed Letter of Authority.
- Accept money, gifts or donations in any form, at any stage.
- Assist any person to conceal an asset or evade a lawful debt.
- Name or accuse an individual officer in public.
- Promise any outcome to a citizen or threaten any institution.
The channel the rules provide
नियमों द्वारा निर्धारित मार्गThe Bureau creates no new remedy. It uses the remedies that already exist, in their proper order, and attaches an instrument to each step.
- LEVEL 1Branch or contact centreForm CGB-3Representation to the institution
- LEVEL 2Nodal OfficerForm CGB-4Escalation Memorandum
- LEVEL 3Principal Nodal OfficerForm CGB-4Escalation Memorandum
- REGULATORRBI Integrated OmbudsmanComplaint filedWith the complete record annexed
- LEGAL AIDDistrict Legal Services AuthorityApplication assistedFor eligible citizens
Citizens served
जिनकी सेवा की जाती हैAny citizen may register a grievance. The Bureau was constituted with these citizens foremost in view.
Farmers and agricultural borrowers
Crop loans, Kisan Credit Card accounts, tractor finance and crop insurance claims.
Drivers and transport operators
Commercial vehicle loans, repossession of vehicles and the conduct of recovery agents.
Small traders and shopkeepers
Business loans, current accounts, card terminals and settlement of overdue accounts.
Salaried families
Credit cards, personal and home loans, wrongful deductions and credit report errors.
Pensioners and senior citizens
Pension delays, matured deposits and claims on the account of a deceased depositor.
Co-borrowers and guarantors
Statements, loan agreements, repossession records and liability notices issued in their name.
Organisation of the Bureau
ब्यूरो का संगठनEach function is assigned to a desk. A citizen writes to the Case Registry, which allots the matter.
| Desk | Function | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Case Registry | Receives grievances, allots Registry Numbers, keeps the register of dates and forwards each reply to the citizen. | case@cgb.org.in |
| Case Desk | Examines documents, explains them to the citizen and drafts the representation under Form CGB-3. | Through the Case Registry |
| Escalation Desk | Watches each due date, issues Escalation Memoranda and files before the Ombudsman or portal once the matter is eligible. | Through the Case Registry |
| Verification Desk | Confirms to an institution that a representation or Letter of Authority was issued by the Bureau and remains in force. | case@cgb.org.in Subject: Verification |
| Grievance Officer of the Bureau | Hears complaints about the Bureau's own conduct or delay, and reports on them independently of the desk concerned. | grievance@cgb.org.in |
Matters are allotted so that no person handles a grievance against an institution in which that person is employed or holds an interest. See the Statement of independence.
Instruments of the Bureau
ब्यूरो के प्रपत्रFive forms carry a matter from registration to closure. Each is dated and entered in the registry.
CGB-1Grievance Registration
Completed by the citizen. Allots the Registry Number.
CGB-2Letter of Authority
Signed by the citizen. Confined to one matter and revocable.
CGB-3Representation to Institution
Issued by the Case Desk with the citizen in copy.
CGB-4Escalation Memorandum
Issued on lapse of the prescribed period.
CGB-5Closure Record
Entered on resolution or a forum's decision.
Governing documents
शासी दस्तावेज़The Bureau is bound by the following published documents.
Case Registry
A grievance left unanswered is a grievance not yet registered.