Dance troupes, artistes, etc., who wish to undertake cultural tours abroad, should obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

Ans: The NEFT system is available round the clock throughout the year on all days, i.e., on 24x7x365 basis. NEFT presently operates in batches on half-hourly intervals throughout the day. In case of non-availability of NEFT for any reason, appropriate message will be broadcasted by RBI to all system participants.

An authorisation granted under Section 10(1) of FEMA 1999 may be revoked by the Reserve Bank at any time if the Reserve Bank is satisfied that -

1. it is in public interest so to do; or

2. the authorised person has failed to comply with the condition subject to which the authorisation was granted or has contravened any of the provisions of the Act or any rule, regulation, notification, direction or order made thereunder

Reserve Bank also reserves the right to revoke the authorisation of any of the offices of the authorised person for infringement of any statutory or regulatory provision. The Reserve Bank may at any time vary or revoke any of the existing conditions of an authorisation/licence or impose new conditions.

Ans. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976 is administered and monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs whose address is given below:

Ministry of Home Affairs, FCRA Wing, 1st Floor, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Near Pragati Maidan, New Delhi-110001

No specific approval from the Reserve Bank is required in this regard

Banks should exercise care while affixing stamps on the cheque forms, so that it does not interfere with the material portions such as date, payee’s name, amount, and signature. The use of rubber stamps, etc., should not overshadow the clear appearance of these basic features in image. It is necessary to ensure that all essential elements of a cheque are captured in an image during the scanning process and banks / customers have to exercise appropriate care in this regard.

Banks are also required to verify the security features additional to CTS-2010 standard that have been voluntarily implemented

Yes. The complainant can be filed by one s authorized representative (other than an advocate).

An investor can make only a single bid through any bank or PD under this scheme in each specified auction.

No. Children (including minor) are not eligible for additional interest admissible to bank's staff member/retired staff member.

A. Funding for overseas investment could be made by one or more of the following sources:the balances held in Exchange Earners Foreign Currency account of the Indian party maintained with an authorised dealer,proceeds of ADR/GDR issues,market purchases of foreign exchange,share swap (refers to the acquisition of the shares of an overseas entity by way of exchange of the shares of the Indian entity).Capitalisation of exports, royalties, etc.

• A non-competitive scheme has been devised for participation of such investors in the auction. Under this scheme, investors are required to indicate the amount of their bids and not the price at which they want to subscribe. Allocation to such investors is made at the weighted average price emerged in the competitive bidding.

• Presently in auction, up to 5 per cent of the notified amount is reserved for non-competitive bidding, while up to 20 per cent of the notified amount will be earmarked for such bidding in case of IIBs to encourage retail participation.

• The retail investors will be able to participate in non-competitive bidding through primary dealers (PD) and banks. They can open a gilt account with PDs and banks or demat account for such participation.

• Investor does not need to open a BLA with any bank for making investment.

• After receiving the money and registration of the investor on RBI’s CBS (E-Kuber), the RBI will open a BLA for each investor and issue a “Certificate of Holding” indicating number of units of IINSS-C held by the investor.

The aggregator or facilitator can recover up to six paise per Rs.100 as commission for rendering this service to their clients. They can build this cost into the sale price or it can be recovered separately from the clients. The aggregator or facilitator is not permitted to build any other cost, such as funding cost, into the price.

Ans : The following are the entry point norms for IDF-NBFC :

• Minimum Net Owned Funds (NOF) of Rs. 300 crore;

• Capital to Risk Weighted Assets (CRAR) of 15%;

• Net NPAs less than 3% of net advances;

• It should have been in existence for at least 5 years before application:

• It should have been profitable in the last three years;

• its performance should be satisfactory and free from supervisory concerns;

• It shall have at the minimum, a credit rating grade of 'A' of CRISIL or equivalent rating issued by other accredited rating agencies such as FITCH, CARE, BRICKWORK and ICRA.

Ans. Yes, under advice to Reserve Bank, FED, CO Cell, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110 001.

No, there is no restriction on withdrawal in Rupees of funds held in an EEFC account. However, the amount withdrawn in Rupees shall not be eligible for conversion into foreign currency and for re-credit to the account.

No. The collecting banks credit the customer’s account only after expiry of the cooling period as such funds are subject to recall under US laws. Some banks may permit selective withdrawal of funds before the cooling period lapses depending on the customer’s credit worthiness, relationship with the bank, KYC compliance, value of the cheque, etc. It is a commercial decision of the bank. Banks have been advised to formulate their policy on instant credit for small value cheques as part of the USD Cheque Collection Policy.

Ans. In terms of Section 4 of the PSS Act, 2007 no person other than the Reserve Bank can operate or commence a payment system unless authorized by the Reserve Bank. Any person desirous of commencing or operating a payment system needs to apply for authorization under the PSS Act, 2007(Section 5).

The application for authorization has to be made as per Form A under Regulation 3(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008. The application is required to be duly filled up and submitted with the stipulated documents to the Reserve Bank.

All entities operating payment systems or desirous of setting up such systems are required to apply for authorization under the Act. The application for authorisation can be downloaded from the following link. Any unauthorized operation of a payment system would be an offence under the PSS Act, 2007 and accordingly liable for penal action under that Act.

On deposit, an acknowledgement receipt mentioning name of declarant and amount deposited will be duly authorized and provided by the bank from which application was made. Subsequently a Certificate of Holding for the BLA will be issued which may be collected from the Authorized Banks through which the deposit was made.

Response

No, the BSBDA customer cannot have any other savings bank account in the same bank. If 'Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account’ is opened on the basis of simplified KYC norms, the account would additionally be treated as a 'Small Account' and would be subject to conditions stipulated for such accounts as indicated in our circulars RPCD.CO.RCB.AML.BC.No.63/07.40.00/2010-11 dated April 26, 2011 and RPCD.CO.RRB.AML.BC.No.15/03.05.33(E)/2011-12 dated August 8, 2011 on 'Opening of Small Account.'