Yes. Banks can sanction bridge loans to companies for a period not exceeding one year against the expected equity flows/ issues as also the expected proceeds of non-convertible Debentures, External Commercial Borrowings, Global Depository Receipts and/ or funds in the nature of Foreign Direct Investments, provided the bank is satisfied that the borrowing company has made firm arrangements for raising the aforesaid resources/ funds. Bridge loans extended by a bank will be included within the 5% ceiling prescribed for banks’ exposure to capital market.

Answer: The reporting requirements are laid down in the Master Direction on Reporting under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

The Reserve Bank of India has been organizing training sessions on the authentication of banknotes security features for people handling significant amounts of cash like banks/consumer forums/merchant associations/educational institutions/police professionals. Apart from the training sessions, information on security features of banknotes is also available on the Bank’s website at https://indiancurrency.rbi.org.in.

No, since the Company is not fulfilling the Principal Business Criteria (asset-income pattern) of an NBFC i.e. more than 50 % of its total assets should be financial assets and the income derived from these assets should be more than 50% of the gross income, it is not required to register as an NBFC under Section 45 IA of the RBI Act, 1934. However, it should register itself as an NBFC as soon as it fulfils the criteria of an NBFC and comply with the NBFC norms.

An NBFC accepts deposits under a mutual contract with its depositors. In case a depositor requests for pre-mature payment, Reserve Bank of India has prescribed Regulations for such an eventuality in the Non-Banking Financial Companies Acceptance of Public Deposits (Reserve Bank) Directions, 1998. However, premature repayment of deposits is the sole discretion of the company concerned. In other words, if the company agrees to pre-pay deposits at the request of the depositor, the depositor and the company are deemed to have mutually agreed to amend the terms of contract. On the above analogy, if a company intends to pre-pay deposits, it can seek the consent of the depositors for such pre-mature repayment and if the depositors agree, a company can do so. It does not involve prior approval of RBI so long as the provisions relating to minimum period regarding repayment of deposits are not violated.

Yes, securities can be gifted/transferred to a relative/friend/anybody who fulfills the eligibility criteria. The bonds shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of the Government Securities Act, 2006 and Government Securities Regulations, 2007.

The loans/ advances granted to individuals against the security of shares, debentures and PSU bonds should not exceed Rs.10 lakhs and Rs.20 lakhs, if the securities are held in physical form and dematerialized form respectively. The maximum amount of finance that can be granted to an individual for subscribing to IPOs is Rs.10 lakhs. However, the bank should not provide finance to companies for their investment in IPOs of other companies. Banks can grant advances to employees for purchasing shares of their own companies under Employees Stock Option Plan (ESOP) to the extent of 90% of purchase price of shares or Rs.20 lakhs whichever is lower. NBFCs should not be provided finance for lending to individuals for subscribing the IPOs. Loans/ advances granted by a bank for subscribing to IPOs should be reckoned as an exposure to capital market.

Answer: Foreign investment can be made based on a notification issued under FEMA, 1999.

Coins in India are presently being issued in denominations of 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees and twenty rupees. Coins up to 50 paise are called 'small coins' and coins of Rupee one and above are called 'Rupee Coins'. Coins can be issued up to the denomination of ₹1000 under The Coinage Act, 2011.

Yes, company which is a CIC and has achieved the balance sheet size of ₹100 crore as per its last audited annual financial statement is required to apply to the Bank for registration as a CIC, subject to its meeting the other conditions for being identified as a CIC.

The concept of `past due’ is applicable to the income from loan and other credit facilities viz. receivables, other dues, etc. However, the lease rentals and hire purchase installments have been allowed to accrue upto 12 months and the concept of `past due’ is not applicable in respect of these assets.

No. The holdings in demat account with NSDL/CDSL are separate from the holdings in RDG account. One can maintain both the accounts at the same time.

A uniform margin of 50% has been stipulated for all advances against shares/ issue of guarantees. Within this 50 percent margin, a minimum cash margin of 25 percent should be maintained in respect of guarantees issued by banks for capital market operation.

Twenty-five (25) paise coins have been withdrawn from circulation with effect from June 30, 2011, vide gazette notification No. 2529 dated December 20, 2010, and are, therefore, no more legal tender. Coins of denominations below 25 paise were withdrawn from circulation much earlier. All other denominations of coins of various size, theme and design minted by Government of India under The Coinage Act, 2011 and issued by RBI for circulation from time to time, continue to remain legal tender.

The directions require assessment of income and indebtedness at household level. There is no requirement of treating all members of the household as applicants/ borrowers of a loan which can be provided to an individual member. Board-approved policies of REs may include the methodologies/ operational frameworks to assess income and indebtedness of all members of the household.

1. Each category of quoted investments is to be valued scrip-wise. Category of investment means the different types of securities under each head viz. equity shares, preference shares, debentures, bonds and Government securities. Only quoted investments can be classified as long term or current investments. The long term investments are allowed to be valued as per AS-13 of the ICAI but the current investments are required to be valued at their market price. However, the NBFCs have been permitted under Prudential Norm Directions, the facility of block valuation method for accounting for the investments. The net of depreciation and the appreciation in the value of the current quoted investments, is only required to be charged to the Profit and Loss Account of the current year. The appreciation in the value of current investments in any category cannot be booked as profit. The concept of block valuation is explained below :

Example No. 1

	Name of the scrip	Market value	Book value	Difference (+)/(-)
	A	200	150	(+) 50
	B	210	180	(+) 30
	C	180	240	(-) 60
	D	240	300	(-) 60

Total appreciation Rs. 80/-

Total depreciation Rs. 120/-

Net depreciation Rs. 40/- to be charged to Profit and Loss
	Account as per provisions for Depreciation in investments.

Example No. 2

	Name of the scrip	Market value	Book value	Difference (+)/(-)
	A	150	200	(-) 50
	B	180	210	(-) 30
	C	240	180	(+) 60
	D	300	240	(+) 60

Total appreciation Rs. 120/-

Total depreciation Rs. 80/-

Net appreciation Rs. 40/- to be ignored.

This appreciation in the value of equity shares cannot be adjusted against the depreciation in the value of any other category of securities.

Yes, you can by raising a request on the online portal and the same would be authorized as per RBI’s Value Free Transfer (VFT) guidelines.

Yes. The profit making banks may make donations during a financial year, aggregating upto one percent of the published profit of the bank for the previous year. However, the contributions/ subscriptions made by banks to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and to professional bodies/ institutions like Indian Banks’ Association, National Institute of Bank Management, Indian Institute of Bankers, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India, during a year will be exempted from the above ceiling. Unutilized amount of the permissible limit of a year should not be carried forward for the next year for the purpose of making donations.

RBI has not prescribed any limit for coin deposits by customers with banks. Banks are free to accept any amount of coins from their customers.

Board-approved policies of REs should cover such operational aspects. One possible way could be to distribute the annualized repayment obligations over twelve months to estimate monthly outgo of the household towards debt repayment.

A. Earning Value :	Average Profit after tax (net of
	dividend on preference shares
	and extra ordinary items ) for
	the last three years		Capitalisation
		X	factor
	Number of equity shares

Hypothetically, the profit after tax for the last three	}	Rs. 100.00 lakhs,
financial years net of dividend on preference shares }		Rs. 120.00 lakhs
and net of extra ordinary items	} &	Rs. 140.00 lakhs
No. of equity shares of the company		10,00,000 shares
The investee company is a predominantly manufacturing
company and the capitalisation factor would be		: 8 per cent
The earning value will be worked out as under :

(100.00+120.00+140.00)		100
	X	---	= Rs.150/-
3 X 10,00,000		8

You can reach us in three ways:

1. Toll free phone number: 1800 267 7955 (between 9 am to 7 pm on any working day).

2. E-mail id: support@rbiretaildirect.org.in

3. Raise a request on the Retail Direct portal.

For additional details on using the Retail Direct portal, you may refer to the User Manual in the Help section of the Retail Direct Portal.

Yes, loss making banks can make donations upto Rs.5 lakhs only in a financial year.

The One Rupee notes issued under the Coinage Act, 2011 are legal tender and included in the expression Rupee coin for all the purposes of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Since the rupee coins issued by Government constitute the liabilities of the Government, one rupee Note is also liability of the Government of India.

The instructions on microfinance loans issued under various Directions are applicable only to the regulated entities mentioned below:

(i) All Commercial Banks (including Small Finance Banks, Local Area Banks, and Regional Rural Banks) excluding Payments Banks;

(ii) All Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks/ State Co-operative Banks/ District Central Co-operative Banks; and

(iii) All Non-Banking Financial Companies (including Microfinance Institutions and Housing Finance Companies).

However, it may be prudent for other lenders operating in the microfinance sector to follow customer-centric instructions for microfinance loans issued under various Directions. Further, it may be noted that exemptions from Sections 45-IA, 45-IB and 45-IC of the RBI Act, 1934 have been withdrawn for those ‘not for profit’ companies engaged in microfinance activities that have asset size of ₹100 crore and above.

1. The Prudential Norms have prescribed that the unquoted shares should be valued at break up value. However, an NBFC can also value these shares at fair value, if it so desires.

Break up value and fair value are to be calculated as per the formula given in the Directions. The formula is illustrated as under :

If the paid equity capital of the company is = Rs. 1,00,00,000

The free reserves net of intangible assets

and deferred revenue expenditure = Rs. 3,20,00,000

Number of equity shares = 10,00,000 shares

The break up value will be :	1,00,00,000 + 3,20,00,000	= Rs. 42/-
	10,00,000

If we take the earning value worked out in the previous question, and since we know that the fair value is the mean of the break up value and the earning value, the fair value will be	150+42	= Rs.96/-
	2

In the given case, the company may value its shares at fair value viz, Rs.96/- which is higher than the break up value at Rs.42/- or cost, whichever is lower.

Yes, the overseas branches of the banks can make donations abroad, provided the banks do not exceed the prescribed ceiling of one per cent of their published profit of the previous year.

Yes. Different designs of ₹10 coins are currently in circulation. All coins of ₹10 denomination minted from time to time by the Government of India (with/without the Rupee symbol) are legal tender. For more details kindly see our Press Release issued in this regard which is available at the following link www.rbi.org.in>>Issuer of currency>>Press Release>>January 17, 2018. https://rbi.org.in/en/web/rbi/-/press-releases/rbi-reiterates-legal-tender-status-of-%E2%82%B9-10-coins-of-different-designs-42887.

The exemption provided by the Reserve Bank to ‘Not for Profit’ companies (i.e., companies incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 or Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956) is applicable to those which are providing microfinance loans as defined in the Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 and subject to conditions specified in para 51 of our ‘Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Directions, 2025 (as amended from time to time). This exemption is not applicable to other ‘Not for Profit’ companies engaged in NBFI business and it is incumbent upon such companies to obtain a certificate of registration under Section 45-IA of the RBI Act, 1934 in case these companies are fulfilling the ‘Principal Business Criteria’ as specified in our Press Release 1998-99/1269 dated April 08, 1999.

The credit concentration norms are applicable to commercial transactions only. Advance deposits of money as security for performance of some contract between the two parties, like office premises, advance deposits with the Government authorities towards services, etc. are not governed by the credit concentration norms.

1. The Board of Directors of the banks should lay down the policy and formulate operational guidelines separately in respect of metropolitan, urban, semi-urban and rural areas covering all areas in respect of acquiring premises on lease/ rental basis for the banks’ use. These guidelines should include also delegation of powers at various levels. The decision in regard to surrendering or shifting of premises other than at rural centers should be taken at the central office level by a committee of senior executives.

2. The Board of Directors of the bank should lay down separate policy for granting of loans to landlords who provide them premises on lease/ rental basis. The rate of interest to be charged on such loans should be fixed as per the lending rate directives issued by RBI with BPLR as the minimum lending rate for the loans above Rs.2 lakhs. The rate of interest may be simple or compound, in accordance with the usual practice of the bank, as applicable to other term loans.

3. Banks should provide a suitable mechanism for redressing the genuine grievances of the landlord expeditiously.

4. The details of negotiated contracts in respect of advances to landlords and rental (including taxes etc. and deposits of Rs.25 lakhs and above) on premises taken on lease/ rental by the public sector banks, should be reported to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as per the extant Government instructions. This requirement will not be applicable to banks in the private sector.

The Government of India is responsible for the designing and minting of coins in various denominations.

The customer should keep in mind, among others, the following:

 

(i) There is no requirement of keeping any deposit/ margin/ collateral/ primary security with the lender at any stage of the microfinance loan.

(ii) Lender is required to provide a loan card to the borrower in a language understood by the borrower which should have following information:

1. Information which adequately identifies the borrower;
2. Simplified factsheet on pricing;
3. All other terms and conditions attached to the loan;
4. Acknowledgements by the lender of all repayments including instalments received and the final discharge; and
5. Details of the grievance redress system, including the name and contact number of the nodal officer of the lender.

(iii) Purchase of any non-credit products is purely voluntary. Fee structure for such products shall be explicitly communicated in the loan card.

(iv) Training provided by the lenders is free of cost.

No. The Prudential Norm Return should be certified by the company’s Statutory Auditors only and not by any other Chartered Accountant.

Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has dispensed with the practice of prescribing service charges to be levied by banks for various services rendered by them. With effect from September 1999, the Reserve Bank has granted freedom to banks to prescribe service charges with the approval of respective Board of Directors.

The Government of India decides on the quantity of coins to be minted on the basis of indent received from the Reserve Bank on yearly basis.

A customer is required to pay only those charges which are explicitly mentioned in the factsheet provided by the lender. Besides this, the customer should also note the following:

(i) There is no pre-payment penalty on microfinance loans.

(ii) Penalty, if any, for delayed payment can be applied only on the overdue amount and not on the entire loan amount.

(iii) Any change in interest rate or any other charge shall be informed to the borrower in writing well in advance and these changes shall be effective only prospectively.

A The RBI regulations are aimed at protecting the depositors' interest indirectly. The Bank also exercises Off-site Surveillance and/or On-site Inspection of NBFCs. The RBI, however, does not guarantee or offer insurance cover to public deposits of NBFCs.

Coins of denominations 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees and twenty rupees continue to be legal tender.

Reserve Bank of India has been issuing press releases from time to time advising the members of public to accept coins as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation. These press releases are available on our website www.rbi.org.in under Currency Management > Press release at the following links:

https://rbi.org.in/en/web/rbi/-/press-releases/public-can-continue-to-accept-%E2%82%B9-10-coins-as-legal-tender-rbi-38636

https://rbi.org.in/en/web/rbi/-/press-releases/rbi-reiterates-legal-tender-status-of-%E2%82%B9-10-coins-of-different-designs-42887

https://rbi.org.in/en/web/rbi/-/press-releases/public-can-continue-to-accept-all-the-coins-as-legal-tender-rbi-47414

Further, RBI has been conducting awareness campaigns in Print, SMS and social media and also disseminates awareness on coins through “RBI says’’ and “RBI Kehta Hai’’ from time to time.

Besides, the Reserve Bank has instructed the banks to accept coins for transactions and exchange at all their branches.

RBI has made it mandatory for lenders to display the minimum, maximum and average interest rates charged on microfinance loans in all their offices, in the literature (information booklets/ pamphlets) issued by them and details on their website.

A. The NBFC has been in existence for at least two years. (New NBFCs are not permitted to mobilise public deposits during first two years of existence) The NBFC has a minimum credit rating of A- (CRISIL AND ICRA),BBB(CARE), BBB- (DCR India) if it is an Equipment Leasing/Hire Purchase Company and a minimum rating of A if it is a Loan/Investment Company. The NBFC does not have overdue deposits, except unclaimed deposits, while soliciting fresh deposits. The NBFC is a profit making company. The NBFC has declared that it has complied with the RBI Directions.

For commemorative coins, you may refer to the website of SPMCIL at http://www.spmcil.com or contact SPMCIL.

NBFC-IFCs can lend to/ invest in InvITs subject to adherence to applicable regulatory guidelines including exposure norms applicable to them. NBFC-IFCs can also lend to/ invest in other trust funds subject to compliance with the criterion of deployment of minimum 75 per cent of total assets towards infrastructure lending and other applicable regulations.

A This information is required to be printed in the Application Form issued by the company soliciting deposits.

Customers aggrieved with the services provided by the banks and a related grievance not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers, or not replied to within a period of 30 days by the bank may approach the RBI Ombudsman under ‘The Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021’. Complaints can be filed online on https://cms.rbi.org.in  and also through the dedicated e-mail or sent in physical mode to the ‘Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre’ set up at Reserve Bank of India, 4th Floor, Sector 17, Chandigarh - 160017 with the bank/ postal receipts as proof for necessary action.

A Please note that: The NBFCs are allowed to accept public deposits in any form only for periods ranging between 12 months and 60 months. NBFCs cannot offer interest rates higher than the ceiling rate prescribed by RBI from time to time. The present ceiling is 16 per cent per annum. The interest may be paid or compounded at rests not shorter than monthly rests. NBFCs cannot offer gifts/incentives or any other additional benefit to the depositors.

A It should be noted that higher the interest, the higher is the risk. Particularly, the NBFCs offering interest or incentives (which are not permitted under the regulations) should be viewed with caution.

A While making deposits with an NBFC the following aspects should also be borne in mind. Note that all public deposits are unsecured. Insist on a proper deposit receipt which should, besides the name of the depositor/s state the date of deposit, the amount in words and figures, rate of interest payable and the date of maturity. Amounts taken under any other nomenclature may not be treated as public deposits and may not be governed by RBI regulations.

A. The deposit acceptance activities of the class of NBFCs, popularly known as RNBCs, are governed by the provisions of Residuary Non- Banking Companies (Reserve Bank) Directions, 1987. That the functioning of these companies (which are very few in number) is entirely different from those of the NBFCs in terms of method of mobilisation of deposits and requirement of deployment of depositors’ funds. These companies are required to invest not less than 80 per cent of their aggregate deposit liabilities according to the prescribed investment pattern. Only 20 per cent of the deposits or ten times the NOF, whichever is lower, can be deployed in other assets. These companies are characterised by poor NOF and as such they are obliged to invest the entire deposit funds as directed by RBI. Serious action has been taken against the erring RNBCs and more than 200 such companies have so far been prohibited from acceptance of deposits.