Ans: No, this is not mandatory. It would, however, be ideal if the beneficiary maintains an account with a bank branch in Nepal to which the credit could be afforded. In Nepal, the INRF Scheme is handled by Nepal SBI Ltd. (NSBL). If the beneficiary does not have a bank account with NSBL or resides in a locality / area in Nepal not serviced by a NSBL bank branch, an arrangement has been entered into by NSBL with a money transfer company in Nepal (called Prabhu Money Transfer) who would make arrangements for delivery of cash (in Nepalese Rupees) to the beneficiary.

Ans. The correspondent bank shall be responsible for the LEI of the non-resident counterpart. However, in this regard it may be guided by the instructions contained in paragraph 2 of the circular.

1. The framework is applicable for green deposits raised by REs on or after June 01, 2023.

2. REs cannot finance green activities/ projects first and raise green deposits thereafter.

Answer: Electronic Trading Platform (ETP) means any electronic system, other than a recognised stock exchange, on which transactions in eligible instruments like securities, money market instruments, foreign exchange instruments, derivatives, etc. are contracted. No entity shall operate an ETP without obtaining prior authorisation of RBI under The Electronic Trading Platforms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2018. The list of authorised ETPs is available here.

Resident persons operating ETPs without authorisation from RBI, collecting and effecting/remitting payments directly/indirectly outside India shall render themselves liable for penal action under the extant laws and regulations, including the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Answer: The term correspondent banking relationship acts as an intermediary or agent, facilitating wire transfers, conducting business transactions, accepting deposits and gathering documents on behalf of another bank. Correspondent banks are most likely to be used by domestic banks to service transactions that either originate or are completed in foreign countries. Domestic banks also use correspondent banks to gain access to foreign financial markets and to serve international clients without having to open branches abroad.

The existing SCAs/SAs of the Entity can continue (including as Joint Auditors) only if they fulfill the eligibility criteria and have not completed the stipulated tenure of three years as SCAs/SAs of the Entity. Till the appointment of SCAs/SAs for FY 2021-22, as per the requirements of the Circular and applicable statutory provisions, the SCAs/SAs for FY 2020-21 can continue for the Limited Review for Q1, Q2, etc.

Ans. The card holder can get the card tokenised by initiating a request on the app provided by the token requestor. The token requestor will forward the request to the card network which, with the consent of the card issuer, will issue a token corresponding to the combination of the card, the token requestor, and the device.

Infrastructure Finance Companies can maintain risk weight at 50% for assets covering PPP and post commercial operations date (COD) projects which have completed at least one year of satisfactory commercial operations and which are backed by a buyback guarantee by a designated Project / Statutory authority under a Tripartite Agreement.

Ans: EMI programmes on Credit Card are governed specifically by Para 6(b)(iii)¹ of the ‘Master Direction on Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct, 2022’. Such transactions shall not be covered under the Guidelines on Digital Lending. However other loan products offered on Credit Cards which are not covered/ envisaged under the aforesaid para of the Master Direction shall be governed by the stipulations laid down under the Guidelines on Digital Lending. Further, the Guidelines will also be applicable to all loans offered on Debit Card, including EMI programmes.

Ans: There is no restriction on transfer of loan accounts classified as fraud by lenders, which was the position even before the issue of MD-TLE, except for ARCs. Lenders can transfer such exposures to permitted transferees as per their board approved policies in compliance with Clause 73.