Not necessarily. In terms of Section 24 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, bank notes shall be of the denominational values of two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees, twenty rupees, fifty rupees, one hundred rupees, five hundred rupees, one thousand rupees, five thousand rupees and ten thousand rupees or of such other denominational values, not exceeding ten thousand rupees, as the Central Government may, on the recommendation of the Central Board, specify in this behalf.

Clarification: In the case of bank’s lending to NBFCs / MFIs / HFCs for on-lending, only that portion of the portfolio should be reckoned for PSL classification that has been disbursed by the NBFC / MFI / HFC to the ultimate borrower/s as on the reporting date. The reckoning of residual portfolio, if any, can be done on subsequent reporting dates, based on the disbursement of eligible loans and reported by the NBFC / MFI / HFC to the bank.

Clarification: The Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending, 2020 under para 21, 22, 23 allows banks to classify as PSL its lending to NBFCs including HFCs and NBFC-MFIs and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts etc.) which are members of RBI recognised SRO for the sector for on-lending to eligible priority sectors. Banks may adopt a uniform methodology for on-lending as follows:

a) Classification under PSL:

• The banks can classify on-lending to NBFC in the respective categories of PSL. The classification will be allowed only when the NBFC has disbursed the Priority Sector Loans to the ultimate beneficiary after receiving the funds from the bank.

• The NBFCs must provide a CA certificate to the banks stating that the individual loans of the portfolio, against which on-lending benefit is being claimed, are not being used to claim benefit from any other bank(s). Also, NBFC must put in place a suitable process to flag such loan(s) in their systems to enable its internal/statutory auditors as well as RBI supervisors to verify the same.

b) Information sharing:

• The banks may devise internal control mechanisms to ensure that the portfolio under on-lending is PSL compliant and adheres to co-terminus clause. The same should be made available to RBI supervisor/s as and when required. The following information/record should be collected by the bank from the EI:

1. Name of the beneficiary, Amount sanctioned, Loan amount outstanding, Loan tenure, disbursement date, category of PSL.

2. A statement to the effect that the portfolio is PSL compliant must be certified by a CA and shared by the EI with the bank on a quarterly basis in line with the PSL reporting by the bank to RBI. With respect to adherence to the co-terminus clause, the bank should ensure the same as on March 31 each year.

c) Adherence to co-terminus condition:

• The banks availing benefit of on-lending for PS assets must adhere to the condition that the tenure of the loan under on-lending to an EI is broadly co-terminus with the tenure of PS assets created by the EI.

• In view of the operational difficulties of exactly matching the co-terminus duration, the banks are allowed a variance of 3 months from the portfolio duration. An illustration for calculating adherence to the co-terminus duration is given below:

In the above illustration, the residual maturity of bank loan to NBFC should be around 22.22 months. Banks are expected to calculate the weighted average residual maturity of portfolio ever year as on March 31 and ensure that residual maturity of bank loan to NBFC matches with the weighted average residual maturity of on-lending portfolio within the tolerance limit of +-3 months.

d) Treatment of pre-payment, foreclosure loans:

• The PS assets created by the entity may undergo pre-payment or foreclosure thereby changing the ‘weighted maturity’ of the portfolio.

• As the banks are required to calculate ‘weighted maturity’ at the end of FY, the loan outstanding in the event of pre-payment/foreclosure will also change accordingly.

• The NBFC may add PS assets to the on-lending portfolio. However, it must meet conditions mentioned above such as disbursements for the PS asset by the eligible entity must be on/after receipt of funds from the bank. The addition of PS assets to the portfolio pool can also be done in case of pre-payment/foreclosure of other PS assets in the pool to ensure adherence to the co-terminus clause.

Clarification: Bank lending to NBFCs (other than MFIs) and HFCs are subjected to a cap of 5% of average PSL achievement of the four quarters of the previous financial year. In case of a new bank the cap shall be applicable on an on-going basis during its first year of operations. The prescribed cap is not applicable for bank lending to registered NBFC-MFIs and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts, etc.) which are members of RBI recognised ‘Self-Regulatory Organisation’ of the sector. Bank lending to such MFIs can be classified under different categories of PSL in accordance with conditions specified in our Master Directions FIDD.CO.Plan.BC.5/04.09.01/2020-21 dated September 04, 2020 and updated from time to time.

Ans: The portfolio investment assets are required to be reported on marked to market basis as at the end of the reference period, with the breakups into type of securities viz., equity securities, short-term debt securities (with and original maturity of up to one year) and long-term debt securities (with an original maturity of more than a year) and country of residence of issuer.

Ans: If the Partnership firms, Branches or Trustees have any outward FDI outstanding as on end-March of the latest FY, then they are required to file the FLA return.

You may refer to /documents/87730/39016390/12EC160712_A6.pdf for illustration purposes.

Ans: No, they are only exempt from norms regarding submission of Statutory Auditor Certificate regarding continuance of business as NBFC, capital adequacy and concentration of credit / investments norms.

Ans.: Indian company which has entered into an agreement with a foreign entity in terms of technology transfer, know-how transfer, use of patent, brand name etc, then such type of agreement are treated as Foreign Technical Collaborations (FTC).

Ans: This condition applies only to the fourth TLTRO conducted on April 17, 2020. It does not apply to the TLTROs conducted before April 17, 2020. It also does not apply to TLTRO 2.0.

The highest denomination note ever printed by the Reserve Bank of India was the ₹10000 note in 1938 which was demonetized in January 1946. The ₹10000 was again introduced in 1954. These notes were demonetized in 1978.

Clarification: While the guidelines allow sharing of risks and rewards between the bank and the NBFC for ensuring appropriate alignment of respective business objectives, the priority sector assets on the bank’s books should at all times be without recourse to the NBFC.

Clarification: Only if the bank can exercise its discretion regarding taking into its books the loans originated by NBFC as per the Agreement, the arrangement will be akin to a direct assignment transaction. If the Agreement entails a prior, irrevocable commitment on the part of the bank to take into its books its share of the individual loans as originated by the NBFC, it shall not be akin to direct assignment transaction.

Clarification: Both entities, the bank & the NBFC shall be guided by the bilateral Master Agreement entered by them for implementing the Co-lending Model (CLM). The agreement may state any cap on the number and amount of loans that can be originated by the NBFC under the Co-lending model.

Clarification: If the Agreement entails a prior, irrevocable commitment on the part of the bank, it has been advised that the partner bank and NBFC shall have to put in place suitable mechanisms for ex-ante due diligence by the bank. Such due diligence should ensure compliance with RBI regulations on KYC and outsourcing of activities before disbursal of the loans by the NBFC.

Clarification: Back-to-back basis implies that the loans will be first opened by NBFC and then bank will open loan accounts subsequently.

Clarification: The bank and the NBFC can decide on this aspect as per the Master agreement between them.

Ans: Reporting entities should report the data in the unit mentioned in the survey schedule (for eg., INR Lakh).

Savings bank account cannot be opened in the name of the Government Department/ Government Scheme, except in respect of deposits of Government organizations/ agencies listed below:

1. Primary Co-operative Credit Society which is being financed by the bank.

2. Khadi and Village Industries Boards.

3. Agriculture Produce Market Committees.

4. Societies registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 or any other corresponding law in force in State or a Union Territory.

5. Companies governed by the Companies Act, 1956 which have been licensed by the Central Government under Section 25 of the said Act, or under the corresponding provision in the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and permitted, not to add to their names the word “Limited” or the words “Private Limited”.

6. Institutions other than those mentioned in clause (i) above and whose entire income is exempt from payment of income tax under Income-Tax Act, 1961.

7. Government departments/ bodies/ agencies in respect of grants/ subsidies released for implementation of various programmes/ Schemes sponsored by Central Government/ State Governments subject to production of an authorisation from the respective Government departments to open savings bank accounts.

8. Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA).

9. Self-help Groups (SHGs), registered or unregistered, which are engaged in promoting savings habits among their members.

10. Farmers’ Clubs – Vikas Volunteer Vahini (VVV).

Ans: Yes, as they are regulated by RBI, they would require NOC from Department of Non-Banking Supervision (DNBS) for making investments in the financial sector. However, a registered CIC making investments in the non-financial sector need not obtain prior approval from the Department of Non-Banking Supervision (DNBS), RBI. It will only need to report such investments to the Department within 30 days of such investment.

Ans: In terms of the press release 2237/2019-2020 dated April 17, 2020 notifying the TLTRO 2.0 scheme, at least 50 per cent of the total funds availed under the scheme has to be deployed in specified securities issued by small NBFCs of asset size of ₹ 500 crores and below, mid-sized NBFCs of asset size between ₹ 500 crores and ₹ 5000 crores and MFIs. The objective is to ease any liquidity stress and/or impediments to market access that these small and mid-sized entities might be facing. In order to incentivise banks’ investment in the specified securities of these entities, it has been decided that a bank can exclude the face value of such securities kept in the HTM category from computation of adjusted non-food bank credit (ANBC) for the purpose of determining priority sector targets/sub-targets. This exemption is only applicable to the funds availed under TLTRO 2.0.

Ans: FLA return and Annual Performance Report (APR) for ODI are two different returns and monitored by two different departments of RBI. So, you are required to submit both the returns if these are applicable for your entity. For more information on APR, please refer to the Master Direction – Reporting under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 on RBI’s website.

Ans.: An Indian company is called as a Foreign Subsidiary if a non-resident investor owns more than 50 per cent of the voting power / equity capital or where a non-resident investor and its subsidiary(s) combined own more than 50 per of the voting power / equity capital of an Indian enterprise.

The paper currently being used for printing of banknotes in India is made by using 100% cotton.

Ans: If the responding entity does not have any portfolio investment asset during the reference period, then that entity is required to submit NIL survey schedule to the generic email ID of the Reserve Bank as per the instruction in the survey schedule.

The list of registered NBFCs is available on the web site of Reserve Bank of India and can be viewed at www.rbi.org.in → Sitemap → NBFC List. The instructions issued to NBFCs from time to time are also hosted at www.rbi.org.in → Notifications → Master Circulars → Non-banking, besides, being issued through Official Gazette notifications and press releases.

1. In the case of term deposit standing in the name/s of a deceased individual depositor, or two or more joint depositors, where one of the depositor has died, the criterion for payment of interest on matured deposits in the event of death of the depositor in the above cases has been left to the discretion of individual banks subject to their Board laying down a transparent policy in this regard.

2. In the case of balances lying in current account standing in the name of a deceased individual depositor/ sole proprietorship concern, interest should be paid only from May 1, 1983 or from the date of death of the depositor, whichever is later, till the date of repayment to the claimant/s at the rate of interest applicable to savings deposit as on the date of payment. However, in the case of NRE deposit, if the claimants are residents, the deposit on maturity is treated as domestic rupee and interest is paid for the subsequent period at a rate applicable to the domestic deposit of similar maturity.

Ans: If all non-resident shareholders of an entity have transferred their shares to the residents during the reporting period and the entity does not have any outstanding investment in respect of inward and outward FDI as on end-March of the latest FY, then the entity need not submit the FLA return.

Ans: Exempted CICs desirous of making overseas investment in financial sector shall first need to hold a Certificate of Registration (CoR) from Reserve Bank of India (the Bank) and will have to comply with all the regulations applicable to registered CIC-ND-SI. However, they need not obtain NOC from the Bank if their investments overseas are in the non-financial sector.

A. As per the new Regulatory framework, there is no overall ceiling on the borrowings of NBFCs. However, limits have been prescribed for acceptance of Public Deposits as indicated here.

It is to be noted that there is an in-built ceiling on the total borrowings of the NBFCs accepting deposits from public, because they are required to maintain a capital adequacy ratio of 10 per cent of their risk weighted assets effective from 31.3.1998 and 12 per cent from 31.3.1999. Their capacity to create assets and raise corresponding borrowings will be restricted because of capital adequacy norms.

Ans.: An Indian company is called as Foreign Associate if non-resident investor owns at least 10% and no more than 50% of the voting power/equity capital or where non-resident investor and its subsidiary(s) combined own at least 10% but no more than 50% of the voting power/equity capital of an Indian enterprise.

1. Enter your PAN card number and date of birth to retrieve details available in CKYC.

2. Provide address details, scanned copy of your signature, bank account details and nominee details.

3. Authenticate the user agreement form using Aadhaar by submitting the OTP sent on your mobile number linked to Aadhaar.

Ans: The funds availed under TLTRO 2.0 are to be deployed in investment grade bonds, commercial paper (CPs) and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and MFIs in the manner outlined in the press release dated April 17, 2020.

Fifteen languages are appearing in the language panel of banknotes in addition to Hindi prominently displayed in the centre of the note and English on the reverse of the banknote.

Ans: If the entity’s accounts are not audited before the due date of submission, then they should report in the survey based on unaudited (provisional) account.

The regulation on non-deposit accepting NBFCs with asset size of less than ₹ 500 crore would be as under:

(i) They shall not be subjected to any regulation either prudential or conduct of business regulations viz., Fair Practices Code (FPC), KYC, etc., if they have not accessed any public funds and do not have a customer interface.

(ii) Those having customer interface will be subjected only to conduct of business regulations including FPC, KYC etc., if they are not accessing public funds.

(iii) Those accepting public funds will be subjected to limited prudential regulations but not conduct of business regulations if they have no customer interface.

(iv) Where both public funds are accepted and customer interface exist, such companies will be subjected both to limited prudential regulations and conduct of business regulations.

Ans: Shares issued by reporting entities to non-resident on non-repatriable basis should not be considered as foreign investment; therefore, entities which have issued the shares to non-resident only on non-repatriable basis, is not required to submit the FLA return.

Ans: Yes, CICs presently registered with the Bank but fulfilling the criteria for exemption under Notification No 220 dated January 05, 2010 can seek voluntary deregistration. Both audited balance sheet and auditors certificate are required to be submitted for the purpose.

Ans.: An Indian company is said have Pure Technical Collaboration if the company has only foreign technical collaboration and have not received any foreign direct investment.

Ans: Banks can submit their request for exercising the repayment option till October 28, 2020. On repayment of funds availed under TLTRO/ TLTRO 2.0, the associated securities shall be shifted out of the HTM category. The shifting of the TLTRO/ TLTRO 2.0 investments out of HTM shall be in addition to the shifting of investments permitted at the beginning of the accounting year and subject to adherence to the guidelines contained in the Master Circular – Prudential Norms for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks dated July 1, 2015. These investments under TLTRO/ TLTRO 2.0 against which funds are being repaid will not be exempted from reckoning under the large exposure framework (LEF) and computation of adjusted non-food bank credit (ANBC) for the purpose of determining priority sector targets/sub-targets.

Yes, it is possible to have two or more banknotes with the same serial number, but they would either have a different Inset Letter or year of printing or signature of a different Governor of RBI. An Inset Letter is an alphabet printed on the Number Panel of the banknote. There can be notes without any inset letter also.