Licences for fullfledged money changers (FFMCs), long the high-street face of India's forex market handling travellers' currency trades, will no longer be issued as the RBI replaces them with a new class of intermediaries, forex correspondents, to be appointed by authorised dealers.
The new rules bar fresh franchisee tie-ups by FFMCs and force a two-year winddown of existing networks. Earlier, authorised dealers and FFMCs could appoint franchisees, limited to buying foreign currency from the public. RBI has now shifted to a principal-agent model via the Forex Correspondent Scheme. Under it, authorised dealers (largely banks) can appoint forex correspondents.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday issued a draft circular to provide clarity on prudential treatment of specified non-financial assets (SNFA) acquired as collaterals in the case of defaults.

The RBI define these assets as an immovable asset acquired by regulated entity in satisfaction or part satisfaction of its claims on the borrower, including nonbanking assets.

The regulator urged the entities to incorporate suitable clauses for acquisition of such assets and their disposal. These should include limit of these assets as a share of total assets, eligibility criteria, delegation matrix, recovery efforts to be explored before acquisition and maximum period for disposal.

SNFA can only be acquired for a non-performing exposures to a borrower where other recovery options have been explored and found unviable, the RBI said. Upon acquisition, these assets should be recorded in the balance sheet at the lower of the net book value of the the distress sale value, according to the draft.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monday raised fresh concerns over unauthorised campaigns falsely promising loan waivers, warning that these pose seious risks not only to individual borrowers but also to the stability of the broader lending system undergirded by credit discipline. Entities running such campaigns could face legal action, it warned.

The central bank underscored its “serious concerns” around misleading outreach by certain individuals and entities through social media and direct channels, offering to secure loan waivers or issuing so-called debt waiver certificates in exchange for fees.

Indian banks are well prepared for the implementation of the final expected credit loss (ECL) guidelines released by the Reserve Bank of India on Monday, according to market participants and analysts.

“Banks have been preparing for this for quite some time—over the past two years—so they are largely ready from a compliance standpoint. A few may need minor system adjustments, but with a full year ahead, that should be manageable,” said a public sector banker.

Despite banks seeking a delay, citing the need for more time to build databases. However, the central bank has mandated implementation from April 2027, with a phased glide path extending to March 2031.

Net sales growth of the select FDI companies moderated to 8.7 per cent in 2024-25 from 9.4 per cent in the previous year, according to the RBI data on finances of foreign direct investment firms.

The central bank on Wednesday released the data relating to the financial performance of non-government non-financial (NGNF) foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in India during 2024-25 based on audited annual accounts of 3,100 companies, which reported in the Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) format.

"Industry wise, net sales growth of services sector marginally increased to 12.7 per cent from 12.2 per cent in the previous year, while for manufacturing sector it decelerated to 5.1 per cent from 6.8 per cent in the previous year," the RBI said.

Short-term fluctuations, including net FDI outflows and exchange rate movements, are cyclical in nature and are being closely monitored, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said.

He was speaking at a round-table hosted by Consulate General of India in New York on Monday. A press release was issued the next day.

Malhotra highlighted the ongoing reforms to simplify regulatory frameworks, enhance ease of doing business, expand market access for foreign investors, and further integrate onshore and offshore markets.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday partially rolled back some of the restrictions imposed on trades in the offshore non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market.

In a notification, the central bank said it has withdrawn its earlier circular that barred banks from offering certain derivative contracts to resident and non-resident users. Banks are now also permitted to rebook or cancel such contracts, with immediate effect.

Restrictions, however, remain in place for related-party transactions. Banks will not be allowed to offer derivative contracts to related parties, except for the cancellation or rollover of existing contracts.

The Reserve Bank of India has opened an exclusive foreign exchange window for supplying dollars to state-run refiners, easing pressure on the spot exchange rate, currency analysts, bankers and traders told ET. It’s likely routed through state-run lenders such as the State Bank of India, they said.

The central bank has used this strategy previously to ease pressure on the rupee--during the socalled taper tantrum of 2013, the Russian-Ukraine war and on occasions when demand from oil companies added to pressure on the currency.

“On an average, daily dollar demand from oil companies is around $500-550 million,” said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors.

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday opened the door for a major expansion push by gold loan companies and other retail-focused NBFCs. The RBI issued the Non-Banking Financial Companies – Branch Authorisation Amendment Directions, 2026, allowing NBFCs to open branches without prior approval. The sector’s most branch-intensive players, particularly gold loan NBFCs, stand to benefit immediately.

New Era of Scaling
“By removing the requirement for prior approval, the regulator has effectively unlocked the next phase of expansion for all serious players in the segment, said Manish Mayank, an industry expert. He said: Over the past year, several new-age corporate entrants tested the waters with selective branch openings, and the results have given them the confidence to scale aggressively. With gold prices supportive and unit economics improving, most branches are already operating profitably.

“The new norms now eliminate the procedural bottleneck that forced companies to repeatedly go back to the regulator for approvals, especially when expanding into high-potential local markets.”

India’s central bank is seeking input from commercial lenders on how they can bring in larger and more stable deposits, as a shift in household savings into equities and other investment products threatens to snowball into a bigger problem for the country’s banks.

In meetings with banks over the past few weeks, officials from the Reserve Bank of India discussed how the growing participation in financial markets has changed the nature of bank deposits — which are now sourced more from institutions such as mutual funds as opposed to lower-cost individual household savings, according to people familiar with the matter.

The RBI, which is also the country’s financial regulator, asked banks what more could be done to attract large deposits to keep pace with loan growth, said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks were private. The discussions could pave the way for regulatory changes on the type of new products that can be offered, the people said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published a medium-term strategy framework called Utkarsh 2.0 to highlight multiple strategy pillars: Regulations, customer centricity, inclusive finance, competitive markets, effective technology, a future-ready organisation, and a global India focus.

The RBI said the framework would focus on simplifying regulations, deepening financial markets and enhancing accessibility, while also prioritising digitisation and innovation across its operations.

The plan places emphasis on improving customer service and financial inclusion, alongside efforts to strengthen market infrastructure and pricing transparency, particularly in government securities. Technology adoption, including artificial intelligence and digitalisation of internal processes, is expected to play a central role.

The Reserve Bank on Friday proposed changes in the criteria for identifying upper layer non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), pitching for an asset-size-based approach as against the earlier parametric system and inclusion of state-run entities.

As per the draft 'Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies' Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Second Amendment Directions, 2026', upper layer NBFCs will be those having assets of over Rs 1 lakh crore.

"With a view to adopt a transparent, simple and absolute criteria for identification of NBFC-UL, it is proposed to replace the existing methodology with asset size criteria, which is currently proposed as Rs 1,00,000 crore and above," the draft put on the RBI website said.

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday released a discussion paper proposing a series of measures to tackle the sharp rise in digital payment fraud, including a mandatory time lag on certain bank transfers, extra authentication for senior citizens making large transactions, caps on suspicious accounts, and a one-click "kill switch" for customers to instantly freeze all digital payments. Comments on the paper are open until May 8, 2026.

The centrepiece proposal is a one-hour delay on account-to-account transfers above Rs 10,000 made by individuals, sole proprietors, or partnership firms — transactions where there is no chargeback mechanism if fraud occurs. The delay could be applied at the sender's end, the receiver's end, or both. The Rs 10,000 threshold is deliberate, as such transactions account for around 45% of fraud cases by volume and represent nearly 98.5% of total fraud value, according to data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday issued a final circular outlining measures to accelerate cross-border inward remittances, mandating banks to credit payments received during foreign exchange market hours to beneficiary accounts on the same business day.

Currently, less than 8-10% of inward remittances in India are credited to beneficiary accounts within an hour, compared with around 75% in the United States.

Banks have been given six months to implement this requirement, while all other provisions will come into effect immediately.

RBI has also directed banks to reconcile and confirm credits in their nostro accounts on a near real-time basis or at intervals not exceeding 30 minutes.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra, along with Deputy Governors T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J, and Poonam Gupta, addressed a range of issues during the post-monetary policy press conference.

One structural change in this policy seems to be that you have started providing the figure for the core inflation rate. While the full-year inflation average rate is 4.4 per cent, that for the second half moves closer to 5 per cent. Should the markets be prepared for a rate increase, especially as liquidity tightens?

Malhotra: This has been a long-standing request from market participants, and we felt this was the right time to introduce it, especially after completing the five-year review.

That said, I would not call it a shift in monetary policy.

Core inflation has always been tracked internally and we are now sharing the projections.

In the post-policy press conference, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and deputy governors spoke on the impact of the West Asia war and the rationale behind measures taken to arrest the rupee depreciation during the post-policy press conference. Excerpts:

You started providing forecasts for core inflation. What are you trying to indicate here?

For us, the headline is the target and we have to ensure that it remains within the band. That’s the primary goal for us. But at the same time, the various components of inflation and where they are emanating from are also very important. We will continue to look into all components and then take a call on how we need to respond to the various components while keeping in mind that the ultimate target is headline inflation.

Indian scheduled commercial banks' gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio declined further to 2 per cent in December 2025, the Reserve Bank said on Wednesday.

Gross NPAs -- which represents the proportion of loans unpaid for over 90 days -- for the banking system had stood at 2.5 per cent in the year-ago period, as per the bi-annual Monetary Policy Report released by the central bank.

The improvement in asset quality was across sectors, including retail loans, services, industry, and agriculture.
NPAs in retail loans eased to 1 per cent, services eased to 1.7 per cent, industry eased to 1.8 per cent, and agriculture eased to 5.7 per cent in December 2025.

It can be noted that NPAs have been improving for many quarters now, reflecting sustained recoveries, upgrades, and write-offs.

Amid concerns about the likely impact of the West Asia conflict and the costs extracted through supply chain disruptions, the RBI said there is no need to worry about the same.

The Reserve Bank-led monetary policy panel believes that the economy is in a good shape and that the interest rate can remain low for long if the ceasefire holds or the war ends conclusively.

Earlier in the day, governor Sanjay Malhotra said the MPC, which got its third five-year flexible inflation targeting mandate last week, has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% and also maintained policy stance neutral after reconsidering to some extent the impact of the ceasefire announcement by the three warring parties in West Asia in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Given the massive increase in crude prices, which had spiked more than 55% last month, and its impact on inflation and the overall growth, the MPC has revised down growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.9% down (from 7.4% FY26).

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday proposed to drop the due diligence requirement for MSMEs to onboard TReDS platforms to promote ease of doing business for micro, small and medium enterprises.

Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) refers to a system for facilitating financing of trade receivables. It is a technology platform on a digital or electronic network for facilitating factoring of trade receivables through multiple financiers.

The TReDS platform will bring participants together for facilitating uploading, accepting, discounting, and settlement of the invoices/bills of sellers, according to draft directions for 'Trade Receivables Discounting System', on which the central bank has invited comments by May 1.

It will also put in place a suitable mechanism to ensure the genuineness of the uploaded invoices/bills, it added.

"The platform shall ensure efficient and seamless settlement of transactions between financier and seller for financing of trade receivables and between buyer and financier on the due date, using any existing payment system," the draft said.

The Reserve Bank of India has relaxed capital computation norms for banks, removing a key NPA-linked condition for including quarterly profits in capital adequacy calculations, while also proposing to do away with the Investment Fluctuation Reserve (IFR), RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in the first bi-monthly policy review of FY27.

Under existing rules, banks could include quarterly profits in their capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) only if incremental provisioning for non-performing assets (NPAs) did not deviate more than 25% from the four quarter average. The RBI has now proposed to dispense with this requirement, easing constraints on capital recognition. The regulator will issue draft amendments for public comment.

Separately, the central bank will remove the requirement for banks to maintain an IFR, which is an additional buffer against mark-to-market losses on investments, given the evolution of prudential norms, including capital charges for market risk and revised investment classification frameworks.