A short term borrowing means borrowing of tenor up to but less than one year.

Eligible investors cannot participate directly. They have to necessarily come through an aggregator or facilitator.

Ans : “Sponsorship” means an equity participation by the NBFC between 30 to 49% of the IDF.

The swap cost of 3.5 per cent will be compounded semi-annually for the tenor of the swap.

No, the transactions covered under the PCG scheme adhering to the prescriptions as per Government of India notification dated August 10, 2019 and the clarifications provided herein will be deemed to have met true sale criteria and the originating NBFC/HFC would not be required to maintain any capital after the transfer of the pooled assets to the purchasing PSBs except in the cases where the originating NBFC/HFC provides credit enhancement.

In terms of the Specified Banknotes (Cessation of liabilities) Act 2017, a facility for exchange of SBNs is made available for the resident and non-resident Indian citizens (Indian passport required) who could not avail the facility from November 10 to December 30, 2016 on account of their absence from India during the aforementioned period. The facility was open for residents from January 2, 2017 to March 31, 2017 and for NRIs it will be till June 30, 2017 at five Reserve Bank offices at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur.

The facility can be availed only in individual capacity and only on one occasion during the period. No third party tender is permissible under the facility.

This facility will not be available for Indian citizens resident in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The details of the facility including terms/ conditions and modalities thereof are available in our circular DCM (Plg) No 2170/10.27.00/2016-17 dated December 31, 2016.

Link to tender form for Resident Indians and NRIs (holding Indian passport) available here.

Yes, ECB and Trade Credit raised from overseas branches of Indian banks will count towards ASCL.

Response

Holders of 'Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account' will not be eligible for opening any other savings account in that bank. If a customer has any other existing savings account in that bank, he / she will be required to close it within 30 days from the date of opening a 'Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account'.

For cross border transaction data, consisting of a foreign component and a domestic component, a copy of the domestic component may also be stored abroad, if required.

Ans. No. The facility is made available at merchant establishments designated by the acquirer banks (i.e. the banks that deploy the PoS terminals) after a process of due diligence. The designated merchant establishments have to clearly indicate / display the availability of this facility along with the charges, if any, payable by the customer.

100% foreign exchange earnings can be credited to the EEFC account subject to the condition that the sum total of the accruals in the account during a calendar month should be converted into Rupees on or before the last day of the succeeding calendar month after adjusting for utilization of the balances for approved purposes or forward commitments.

A Nostro account is a bank account established in a foreign country usually in the currency of that country for the purpose of carrying out transactions there. For example most commercial banks maintain US dollar accounts with their correspondent banks in USA in order to facilitate settlement of interbank and customer transactions in US dollar.

Ans. The Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems Regulation, 2008 deals with the constitution of the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS), a Committee of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. It also deals with the composition of the BPSS, its powers and functions, exercising of powers on behalf of BPSS, meetings of the BPSS and quorum, the constitution of Sub-Committees/Advisory Committees by BPSS, etc. The BPSS exercises the powers on behalf of the Reserve Bank, for regulation and supervision of the payment and settlement systems under the PSS Act, 2007.

The Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 covers matters like form of application for authorization for commencing/ carrying on a payment system and grant of authorization, payment instructions and determination of standards of payment systems, furnishing of returns/documents/other information, furnishing of accounts and balance sheets by system provider etc.

No specific approach has been recommended for achieving ADF due to the reason that various banks are at different levels of IT and Process maturity. However, the Approach Paper on ADF clearly articulates the common end state for achieving the objectives of ADF.

Application and amount for the deposit (in the form of Bond Ledger Account) shall be received by any banking company, other than Co-operative Banks, to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) applies (Authorised Banks).

Ans: Investible funds refer to capital infused in the business and surplus generated out of business of NBFC-P2P. It does not include funds of lenders and borrowers that flow through the escrow accounts. Customers’ funds lent/borrowed by using the platform cannot be utilised by the platform.

As per Clause 8 of the Scheme, the NBFC Ombudsman can receive and consider any complaint on the following grounds:non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment of interest on deposits;non-adherence to the Reserve Bank directives, if any, applicable to rate of interest on deposits;non-repayment or inordinate delay in the repayment of deposits;non-presentation or inordinate delay in the presentation of post-dated cheques provided by the customer;failure to convey in writing, the amount of loan sanctioned along with terms and conditions including annualised rate of interest and method of application thereof;failure or refusal to provide sanction letter/ terms and conditions of sanction in vernacular language or a language as understood by the borrower;failure or refusal to provide adequate notice on proposed changes being made in sanctioned terms and conditions in vernacular language as understood by the borrower;failure or inordinate delay in releasing the securities/ documents to the borrower on repayment of all dues;levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the borrower/customer;failure to provide legally enforceable built-in repossession clause in the contract/ loan agreement;failure to ensure transparency in the contract/ loan agreement regarding (i) notice period before taking possession of security; (ii) circumstances under which the notice period can be waived; (iii) the procedure for taking possession of the security; (iv) provision of final chance to be given to the borrower for repayment of loan before the sale/ auction of the security; (v) the procedure for giving repossession to the borrower and (vi) the procedure for sale/ auction of the security;non-observance of directions issued by Reserve Bank to the NBFCs;non-adherence to any of the other provisions of Reserve Bank Guidelines on Fair Practices Code for NBFCs.The Ombudsman may also deal with such other matter as may be specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

Ans. The BO /PO of a foreign entity, excluding an LO, are permitted to acquire property for their own use and to carry out permitted/incidental activities but not for leasing or renting out the property. However, entities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong and Macau require prior approval of the Reserve Bank to acquire immovable property in India for a BO/PO. BOs/LOs/POs have general permission to carry out permitted/ incidental activities from leased property subject to lease period not exceeding five years.

• Yes, fixed rate of 1.5% would act as a floor, which means that 1.5% per annum interest rate is guaranteed if there is deflation.

• For example, if inflation rate is (-) 5%, then interest rate should be (-) 3.5% by simple calculation. But in such case, negative inflation will not be recognised and investors would get fixed rate of 1.5% (please see example 2 at 23).

Ans. Banks have been providing the services to non-banks for their payment and settlement needs.

Ans. Loans backed by hypothecation of any security shall not be treated as microfinance loans.

Yes. But ADs (banks) should ensure that the funds to be repatriated outside India were either received from abroad or are of repatriable in nature or are permissible in terms of RBI notification No.FEMA.13/2000 dated 3rd May 2000.

The provisions relating to process of selection / removal / qualification, etc. would be fully applicable to foreign banks operating under the branch model (FBOBM). However, in respect of FBOBM, any reference to the Board in terms of para 2.5 of the aforesaid circular detailing the selection process would be treated as equivalent to the Regional or Head Office Compliance. Further, in terms of para 2.7 on detailing the reporting line, any reference to the Board/ACB would be treated as equivalent to Regional or Head Office Compliance in case of FBOBM.

Ans. No, LEI is not required for customer transactions where both remitter and beneficiary are individuals. For transactions, where either or both parties are non-individual/s, LEI will be required.

As per Clause 8 of the Scheme, the Ombudsman for Digital Transactions shall receive and consider complaints on deficiency in services against System Participants defined in the Scheme on any of the following grounds:

4.(1) Prepaid Payment Instruments: Non-adherence to the instructions of Reserve Bank by System Participants about Prepaid Payment Instruments¹ on any of the following:

1. Failure in crediting merchant's account within reasonable time;

2. Failure to load funds within reasonable time in wallets / cards;

3. Unauthorized electronic fund transfer;

4. Non-Transfer / Refusal to transfer/ failure to transfer within reasonable time, the balance in the Prepaid Payment Instruments to the holder’s ‘own’ bank account or back to source at the time of closure, expiry of validity period etc., of the Prepaid Payment Instrument;

5. Failure to refund within reasonable time / refusal to refund in case of unsuccessful / returned / rejected / cancelled / transactions;

6. Non-credit / delay in crediting the account of the Prepaid Payment Instrument holder as per the terms and conditions of the promotions offer(s) from time to time, if any;

7. Non-adherence to any other instruction of the Reserve Bank on Prepaid Payment Instruments.

Ans. Corporates, Government Departments, PSUs and any other entity can participate as buyers in TReDS.

For the borrowers eligible for resolution under the circular dated August 6, 2020 on Resolution Framework for COVID-19-related Stress, the circular dated August 6, 2020 will be applicable if a resolution process under the circular is invoked. For all other borrowers, the extant instructions as otherwise applicable shall still be in force. However, if any entity is otherwise eligible to be resolved under the Resolution Framework, only Resolution Framework can be used for resolving the stress arising out of the pandemic.

Response: In addition to financial transactions, any process initiated by the cardholder such as generation of statement, change of PIN, change in transaction controls, etc., shall be considered for treating a card as ‘used’. However, any calls made to the customer care centre, for reasons other than those cited above, shall not be considered towards usage of a card.

ANS: Yes. The banks are required to transfer the entire amount, including the accrued interest, as on the date of transfer to the DEA Fund.

ANS: A user is required to register on the portal by providing his/her name and mobile number. (The user manual available on the portal (https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits/#/login) elucidates the detailed process of registration and use of the portal).
(a) Individuals: For searching unclaimed deposits in individual category, a user has to provide inputs such as name of the account holder, name of the bank (one or more banks can be selected) and any one or more of the five inputs viz., Permanent Account Number (PAN), Driving License Number, Voter ID Number, Passport Number and Date of Birth of the account holder.
(b) Non-Individuals: For searching unclaimed deposits in non-individual category, a user has to provide inputs such as name of the entity, name of the bank (one or more banks can be selected) and any one or more of the four inputs viz., Name of the authorised signatory, PAN, Corporate Identification Number (CIN) and Date of Incorporation.
Even if none of the above-mentioned information is available, the user can type the address of the account holder or the entity (as the case may be), in place of these inputs mentioned above for undertaking the search.

The G S Act and the G S Regulations came into force with effect from December 1, 2007. The G S Act applies to Government securities created and issued by the Central Government or a State Government, whether before or after the commencement of this Act. The G S Act will apply to all Government securities created and issued even prior to December 1, 2007.

It is not necessary that individual alongwith his related parties have shareholding in the NOFHC. However, if any individual belonging to the Promoter Group chooses to become a promoter of the NOFHC, he along with his relatives (as defined in Section 6 of the Companies Act 1956) and along with entities in which he and / or his relatives hold not less than 50 per cent of the voting equity shares can hold voting equity shares not exceeding 10 per cent of the total voting equity shares of the NOFHC. [para 2 ( C ) (ii) (a) of the guidelines]

Persons resident in India as defined under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 are eligible to invest in SGB. Eligible investors include individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities and charitable institutions. Individual investors with subsequent change in residential status from resident to non-resident may continue to hold SGB till early redemption/maturity.

Ans. The investor who has remitted funds under LRS can retain and reinvest the income earned from his investments made under the Scheme. However, the received/realised/unspent/unused foreign exchange, unless reinvested, shall be repatriated and surrendered to an authorised person within a period of 180 days from the date of such receipt/ realisation/ purchase/ acquisition or date of return to India, as the case may be.

Further, any additional repatriation requirement with respect to investments made under Overseas Investments Rules and Regulations 2022 shall also be adhered to.

Ans: The credit cards can be used for purchase of goods and services at PoS terminals / e-commerce. These cards can be used domestically and internationally (provided they are enabled for such use). Credit cards can also be used to draw cash advances from ATMs, subject to prescribed terms, and conditions.

Banks have been advised to issue only CTS 2010 standard compliant cheques from September 30, 2012. Earlier, there were seprate clearing sessions for non-CTS cheques. However, they were discontinued with effect from December 31, 2018. As of now, non-CTS cheques cannot be presented in CTS. Bank have been advised to withdraw the non-CTS cheques from the customers. However, non-CTS cheques remain to be valid as a negotiable instrument.

Ans: Yes, both movable and immovable secured assets possessed under Section 13 (4) of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, on which the information is already published in the newspapers in terms of Rule 3 (1) or Rule 6 (2) of the Security (Enforcement) Rules of 2002 in case of movable property, and Rule 8 (2) ibid in case of immovable property, shall be displayed on the website of the RE.

The list of banks in India, their UPI handles and platforms for receiving and sending remittances are tabulated as following:

Receiving Remittances			Sending Remittances
Banks	UPI Handles Enabled	Featuring Apps	Banks	Apps / Internet banking
Axis Bank	@axisbank	Axis Pay	ICICI Bank	Internet banking
DBS Bank India	@dbs	DBS Digibank	Indian Bank	Mobile App (IndOASIS)
ICICI Bank	@icici	ICICI iMobile	Indian Overseas Bank	Internet banking
Indian Bank	@indianbank	IndOASIS
Indian Overseas Bank	@iob	BHIM IOB Pay	State Bank of India	Mobile App (BHIM SBI Pay)
State Bank of India	@sbi	BHIM SBI Pay

Yes. Members of the public can continue to use ₹2000 banknotes for their transactions and also receive them in payment. However, they are encouraged to deposit and/or exchange these banknotes on or before September 30, 2023.

Ans: No. Not required.

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.