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With a view to consolidate the existing regulatory instructions on the topic on an ‘as-is’ basis, the draft of Reserve Bank of India (Universal Banks – Licensing) Guidelines, 2025 has been issued for public comments.

With a view to consolidate the existing regulatory instructions on the topic on an ‘as-is’ basis, the draft of Reserve Bank of India (Universal Banks – Licensing) Guidelines, 2025 has been issued for public comments.

The list of regulatory instructions that could be withdrawn / repealed, once the consolidated Master Directions are finalised, has been issued for public comments. 
Additional comments or any attachments may also be submitted by email at feedbackconsoldor@rbi.org.in.

The proposed Directions seek to replace the incurred-loss-based provisioning framework with an ECL based provisioning, subject to prudential floors. These are  expected to further strengthen credit risk management practices, promote greater comparability across financial institutions, and align regulatory norms with internationally accepted regulatory and accounting standards.

The proposed Directions seek to replace the incurred-loss-based provisioning framework with an ECL based provisioning, subject to prudential floors. These are  expected to further strengthen credit risk management practices, promote greater comparability across financial institutions, and align regulatory norms with internationally accepted regulatory and accounting standards.

The proposed Directions seek to implement one of the key elements of the global reforms implemented by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), suitably tailored to the Indian context. The Directions amend the existing standardised approach framework for calculating the capital charge for credit risk with the objective of enhancing its robustness, granularity, and risk sensitivity.

The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 launched on November 12, 2021, provides customers of Regulated Entities (REs) a speedy, cost-effective and expeditious alternate grievance redress mechanism. Based on the operational experience, stakeholder feedback, and global best practices, the Reserve Bank has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Scheme.

The Reserve Bank, vide Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2023 dated December 29, 2023, has institutionalized the Internal Ombudsman mechanism in various regulated entities (REs) for independent review of customer complaints that are being rejected. A holistic review of the existing instructions has been undertaken to further strengthen the functioning of the Internal Ombudsman with a view to facilitating faster and meaningful resolution of customer grievances at the level of the REs.

Lending to counterparties who are related or connected to the lenders either through ownership stake in the lending entity or through their ability to control and influence the lending decisions entail conflict of interest or moral hazard issues for the lenders. The draft Directions being issued provide a harmonised, principle-based framework to be adopted by REs for managing such risks, suitably rationalising the existing provisions.

Lending to counterparties who are related or connected to the lender    either through ownership stake in the lender or through their ability to    control and influence the lending decisions may prove to be detrimental to    the interests of the and other stakeholders. Globally, there are regulations    on such related party lending and transactions which might create a conflict    of interest or moral hazard for the lenders.

Lending to counterparties who are related or connected to the lenders either through ownership stake in the lending entity or through their ability to control and influence the lending decisions entail conflict of interest or moral hazard issues for the lenders. The draft Directions being issued provide a harmonised, principle-based framework to be adopted by REs for managing such risks, suitably rationalising the existing provisions.

Lending to counterparties who are related or connected to the lenders either through ownership stake in the lending entity or through their ability to control and influence the lending decisions entail conflict of interest or moral hazard issues for the lenders. The draft Directions being issued provide a harmonised, principle-based framework to be adopted by REs for managing such risks, suitably rationalising the existing provisions.

Lending to counterparties who are related or connected to the lenders either through ownership stake in the lending entity or through their ability to control and influence the lending decisions entail conflict of interest or moral hazard issues for the lenders. The draft Directions being issued provide a harmonised, principle-based framework to be adopted by REs for managing such risks, suitably rationalising the existing provisions.

Lending to counterparties who are related or connected to the lenders either through ownership stake in the lending entity or through their ability to control and influence the lending decisions entail conflict of interest or moral hazard issues for the lenders. The draft Directions being issued provide a harmonised, principle-based framework to be adopted by REs for managing such risks, suitably rationalising the existing provisions.

As announced in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated October 01, 2025, the Reserve Bank had issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of a Branch Office or a Liaison Office or a Project Office or any other place of business) Regulations, 2016, vide Notification No. FEMA 22(R)/2016-RB. dated March 31, 2016.

BSBD Account is a savings bank account which was introduced with the objective of promoting financial inclusion. The extant instructions on BSBD account require banks to provide certain minimum facilities free of charge, without the requirement of minimum balance, to the holders of such accounts. The ongoing digitalization in the banking sector necessitates a BSBD account that is in sync with the customer’s changing requirements.

The Guidelines on Enhancing Credit Supply for Large Borrowers through Market Mechanism were introduced in August 2016 with an objective to address the concentration risk arising from the aggregate credit exposure of the banking system to a single large corporate and encourage such large corporates to diversify their funding requirements.