With effect from April 1, 2002 banks have been charging interest on loans and advances at monthly rests except in the case of agricultural advances (including short term loans and other allied activities) where the existing practice continues.

Any draw-down in respect of an ECB should happen only after obtaining the Loan Registration Number (LRN) from RBI by filing duly certified Form ECB to the Director, External Commercial Borrowings Division, Department of Statistics and Information Management (DSIM), Reserve Bank of India, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai – 400 051. It should be ensured that all terms and conditions of the ECB are reported correctly in Form ECB and none of the columns are left blank (such columns which are not applicable for the borrowing or against which ‘nil’ information has to be given, should be suitably covered). Changes in ECB parameters, whether under the automatic route with the approval of Authorised Dealer Category –I banks or under the approval route with prior approval of the RBI, should also be reported to the DSIM through revised Form ECB at the earliest, in any case not later than 7 days from the changes effected. While submitting revised Form ECB, the changes should be specifically mentioned in the communication. Any failure to comply with reporting guidelines in respect of Form ECB for an ECB may invite penal action under FEMA.

Answer: Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), Foreign Central Banks, Multilateral Development Bank, Long term investors like Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), Multilateral Agencies, Endowment Funds, Insurance Funds and Pension Funds which are registered with SEBI Long Term Investors may invest in other securities as specified in Schedule 5 to Notification No FEMA 20.

At the weighted average price of the successful bids in the auction.

Non-payable banknotes are retained by the receiving banks and sent to the Reserve Bank where they are destroyed.

A company which does not have financial assets which is more than 50% of its total assets and does not derive at least 50% of its gross income from such assets is not an NBFC. Its principal business would be non-financial activity like agricultural operations, industrial activity, purchase or sale of goods or purchase/construction of immoveable property, and will be a non-banking non-financial company. Acceptance of deposits by a Non-Banking Non-Financial Company are governed by the rules and regulations issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Answer: Foreign Venture Capital Investor’ (FVCI) means an investor incorporated and established outside India and registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Venture Capital Investors) Regulations, 2000

The minimum level of liquid asset between January 1 and March 31, 1998 remains unchanged at 10 per cent and 5 per cent of the regulated deposits outstanding as on September 30, 1997 for equipment leasing/hire purchase finance companies and loan/investment companies respectively, depending upon their Registration status under erstwhile Registration Scheme. However, on and from April 1, 1998, the requirement of liquid assets would be uniform for all these NBFCs except RNBCs at 12.5 per cent of the "public deposits". The ratio will be 15 per cent of public deposits on and from April 1, 1999. For RNBCs, the ratio shall remain unchanged at 10 per cent of the deposits outstanding.

The borrowers are required to report actual ECB transactions, correctly and fully, through duly certified Form ECB 2 through the Authorised Dealer Category-I bank to DSIM as per the periodicity specified by the RBI. None of the columns in Form ECB 2 should be left blank (such columns which are not applicable for the borrowing or against which ‘nil’ information has to be given, should be suitably covered). The Form ECB 2 should reach DSIM within seven working days from the close of month to which it relates. Changes, if any, in ECB parameters should also be incorporated in Form ECB 2 suitably. Any failure to comply with reporting guidelines in respect of Form ECB 2, including failure to adhere to periodicity of reporting, may invite penal action under FEMA.

Ans: Adjusted net worth (ANW) is a concept akin to capital requirement wherein the ANW should not be less than 30% of the risk weighted assets (RWA). In cases where asset size is aggregated, all the CICs within the group will be registered as CIC-ND-SI ANW will be applicable individually.