Reserve Bank had announced, as part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 06, 2026, that revised guidelines on the Lead Bank Scheme would be issued shortly to streamline the operational aspects.

Accordingly, the draft Circular on the revised guidelines of the Lead Bank Scheme has been issued today for public comments.

The revised guidelines aim to finetune the objectives of the Scheme; the structure, membership and agenda of various fora under the Scheme; clear delineation of roles and responsibilities of key functionaries; and provisions to further strengthen the State Level Bankers' Committee and Lead District Manager offices, among others.

The comments / feedback on the draft Circular may be submitted by email <to be hyperlinked to a generic email id, i.e., lbsfiddco@rbi.org.in> with the subject line ‘Feedback on the Draft Circular on Lead Bank Scheme’.

The last date for submission of comments is March 06, 2026

(Brij Raj)         
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2025-2026/2105