I. Department of Banking Regulation
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Private Bank Licence- In principle approval | 90 days@ |
| 2. | Approval to banks for acquisition/transfer of shares of five per cent or more of paid up equity share capital of the bank | 90 days |
| 3. | Approval to banks for holding non-banking assets beyond 7 and up to 12 years, in terms of Section 9 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 | 15 days |
| 4. | Approval to banks for redemption of subordinated debt | 15 days |
| 5. | Approval to banks for establishing a subsidiary/joint venture/associate/making strategic investments in financial services companies | 45 days |
| 6. | Approval to banks for offering activities such as investment advisory services, portfolio management services or venturing into stock broking, mutual funds, venture capital funds, insurance or pension management departmentally | 45 days |
| 7. | Permission to banks for expanding the scope of para-banking activities of the bank/its subsidiary | 45 days |
| 8. | Permission to banks to retain investments in non-financial services companies beyond the prescribed prudential limits | 45 days |
| 9. | Approval to foreign banks having their business in India for substitution of Government / approved Securities held under Section 11(2)(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 | 5 days |
| 10. | Approval to foreign banks having their business in India for deposit/withdrawal of Government / approved Securities held under Section 11(2)(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 | 5 days |
| 11. | Appointment / re-appointment of whole time directors (MD & CEO / EDs/ Jt. MDs ) and Part-time Chairmen (non-whole time directors) in Private Sector Banks, including LABs | 90 days |
| 12. | Appointment / re-appointment of CEOs of Foreign Banks operating in India | 90 days |
| 13. | Remuneration, Bonus and Employee Stock Option(ESOP) of whole time directors (MD & CEO / EDs/ Jt. MDs ) and Part-time Chairmen (non-whole time directors) of Private Sector Banks, including LABs | 60 days |
| 14. | Remuneration, Bonus and Employee Stock Option of CEOs of Foreign Banks operating in India | 60 days |
| 15. | Clearances for appointment of whole time directors, non-executive chairmen and non-official directors of public sector banks | 60 days |
| 16. | Approval of Annual Banking Outlet Expansion Plan (ABOEP) in respect of Domestic Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs) for which the general permission has been withdrawn and for Small Finance Banks, Payment Banks and Local Area Banks | 45 days |
| 17. | Advances to banks’ Directors | 90 days |
| 18. | Staff Incentive Schemes by banks for deposit mobilization | 90 days |
| 19. | Authorisation for import of gold/silver by banks | 60 days |
| 20. | Authorization for opening of banking outlets under approved ABOEP | 30 days |
| @The timeline for issue of in-principle approval for private sector bank licences commences from receipt of report from the Independent External Advisory Committee. | ||
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|
|---|
| Regional Rural Banks | ||
|---|---|---|
| 21. | Inclusion in/Exclusion from Second Schedule of RBI Act | 45 days |
| 22. | Permission for opening of branches/ issue of licence for branches/ service branches/ Regional Offices | 45 days |
| 23. | Permission for shifting of branches outside the locality/municipal ward at semi-urban/ urban/ metropolitan centres | 45 days |
| 24. | Permission for conversion of satellite offices/ extension counters into full-fledged branches | 45 days |
| 25. | Permission for opening of extension counters/ ultra-small branches | 45 days |
| 26. | Appropriation from the Reserve Fund under Section 17(2) of the BR Act, 1949 | 45 days |
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Ozg Banking & NBFC Experts | Website: nbfc.co.in | Email: ask@nbfc.inII. Department of Banking Supervision
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Approval given to banks and Financial Institutions for Statutory Central Auditors and Statutory Branch Auditors | |
| i) Public Sector Banks: | ||
| a) Statutory Central Auditors | 15 days | |
| b) Statutory Branch Auditors | 30 days | |
| ii) Private Sector Banks/Foreign Banks: | ||
| a) Statutory Central Auditors | 30 days | |
| b) Statutory Branch Auditors | 30 days | |
| iii) Overseas branches of Indian Banks: | ||
| Statutory Auditors | 30 days | |
| iv) Select Financial Institutions: | ||
| Statutory Auditors | 21 days |
III. Department of Currency Management/ Issue Department
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Opening of currency chests (CCs) by banks | The Approvals will normally be accorded within 30 days provided the construction conforms to the specifications |
IV. Department of Non-Banking Regulation
| Sr. No | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| SRO | ||
| 1. | Recognition to Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) | 45 days |
| Non-Banking Finance Companies(NBFCs) | ||
| 2. | Issue of Certificate of Registration (other than Securitization and Reconstruction Companies) |
45 days |
| 3. | NOC to sponsor Infrastructure Debt Fund by NBFC | 30 days |
| 4. | Change of control/ownership/management of an NBFC | 30 days |
| 5. | Conversion of existing NBFCs to other categories such as Core Investment Companies-Non Deposit taking-Systemically Important (CIC-ND-SI) , NBFC-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs), NBFC-Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFCs) and NBFC-Factors | 30 days |
| 6 | Change in shareholding pattern | 45 days |
| 7 | Declaration of dividend– (In case there are special reasons or difficulties for any PD in strictly adhering to the guidelines relating to Dividend, it may approach RBI in advance for an appropriate ad hoc dispensation in this regard) 45 days | |
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| Sr. No | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Banking Finance Companies(NBFCs) | ||
| 1. | Change of name | 30 days |
| 2. | Shifting of company’s Registered Office and request for issue of fresh Certificate of Registration | 30 days |
| 3 | Issue of NOC for setting up of subsidiary/ Wholly Owned Subsidiary overseas | 30 days |
| 4 | Approval for exemption from the exposure norms in cases where public funds are not accepted | 30 days |
| 5 | Permission to invest in insurance companies | 30 days |
| 6 | Permission to convert NBFC from Category A (Accepting Deposits) to Category B (Non-Deposit Accepting) | 30 days |
| 7 | Opening of branches (> 1000 in number) by NBFCs primarily into lending against gold jewellery | 30 days |
| 8. | Opening of branches by NBFCs-Deposit taking | 30 days |
| 9. | Issue of co-branded credit cards and pre-paid payment instruments | 30 days |
| 10. | Distribution of mutual fund products | 30 days |
VI. Department of Payment and Settlement Systems
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Market Infrastructure | ||
| 1. | Authorisation for Financial Market Infrastructure e.g. Central Counter Party, Trade Repository, etc. | 120 days @ |
| Retail Payment System | ||
| 2. | Authorisation for Retail Payment System (including Card Payment Networks, Cross Border Money Transfer, ATM Network, Prepaid Payment Instrument Operators, White Label ATM Operators, etc.) | 120 days # |
| @ –The proposals are put up for
approval to Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and
Settlement Systems (BPSS). BPSS ordinarily meets once in three months. # – Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 [Sec 7(4)] states that RBI shall endeavour to dispose of applications for Authorisation within six months from the date of filing. The proposals are approved by the BPSS. BPSS ordinarily meets once in three months. |
||
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VII. Foreign Exchange Department
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | a) Trade Credit under approval route | 7 days |
| b) Post servicing of External Commercial Borrowing (ECB)/ Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB) under Automatic and Approval route | 15 days | |
| c) ECB/FCCB proposals under Approval route | 30 days | |
| 2. | NOC/approval for a) Employee Stock Ownership Plan(ESOP) not covered under general permission b) Rights Issue not covered under general permission c) Permission for investment by erstwhile Overseas Corporate Body(OCB) d) NOC for repatriation of share application money beyond 180 days e) Extension for retention of share application money beyond 180 days f) Conversion of shares from non-repatriation basis to repatriation basis g) Approval for holding share application money in foreign currency in India/ abroad h) Approval for registration of Foreign Venture Capital Investor(FVCI) i) Increase in holdings in a company beyond the limit to 24 % up to sectoral cap/ statutory ceiling |
30 days |
| j) Approval for Pledge of shares | 40 days | |
| 3. | Receipt of Capital Contribution | 30 days |
| 4. | a)Transfer of shares from Non Resident Indian (NRI) to Non Resident(NR) | 40 days |
| b) Gift of shares from Resident to NRI c) Delay in reporting d) Permission for opening of escrow account by Authorised Dealer(AD) Category – I bank beyond the period of 6 months for effecting transfer of shares |
60 days | |
| 5. | a) Permission for establishment of new Liaison Office(LO)/ Branch Office(BO) in India under Approval Route | 40 days |
| b) Approval for establishing additional LO/BO in India. c) Permission for shifting LO/BO to another city. |
10 days on receipt of Government approval | |
| d) Permission for opening LO/BO/ Project Office(PO) by entities from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iran | 10 days on receipt of Government approval | |
| e) Permission for establishing PO in India which require GOI approval | 10 days on receipt of Government approval | |
| 6. | Permission to open foreign currency account in India | 60 days |
| 7. | To open foreign currency account outside India | 60 days |
| 8. | To open Non Resident Ordinary(NRO) account in consultation with the MoF, GoI | 30 days on receipt of Government approval |
| 9. | To receive salary outside India in foreign currency account | 90 days |
| 10. | For transfer/acquisition of immovable property not covered under general permission in terms of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 or the rules/ regulations made thereunder | 30 days on receipt of Government approval |
| 11. | Approvals given for proposals regarding miscellaneous external payments of permissible Current and Capital Account transactions | 30 days |
| 12. | a) Investment in Overseas Joint Ventures and Wholly Owned Subsidiary(WOS) (not covered by automatic route) b) Other overseas Investment under approval route |
40 days |
| c) Disinvestment of shares in Overseas Joint Ventures / Subsidiaries | 40 days | |
| d) Allotment of Unique Identification Number (UIN) | Instant online allotment | |
| 13. | Issue and Renewal of fresh AD Category Cat-I licence | 30 days |
| 14. | Issue of fresh AD Cat-II licence | 90 days |
| 15. | Issue and Renewal of fresh AD Cat-III licence | 30 days |
| 16. | Issue of fresh licence to conduct Money Transfer Service Scheme(MTSS) business | 45 days |
| 17. | Issue of first permission to undertake Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA) scheme | 30 days |
| 18. | Approvals to take Insurance policies from insurance companies in foreign countries. | 7 days |
| 19. | Compounding of contraventions of FEMA | 180 days |
| 20. | Issue/ Renewal of Money Changer’s licence | 40 days |
VIII. Financial Markets Operation Department
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Intra-day Limit (IDL) setting for RTGS members | 7 days* |
| *The timeline indicates clear working days, excluding date of receipt of application. | ||
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IX. Financial Markets Regulation Department
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One time Permission to Authorised Dealer category–I bank for running FCY-INR options book | 30 days |
| 2 | Authorisation to Currency Futures Exchanges/ Clearing Corporations u/s 10(1) of FEMA 1999 | 30 days |
| 3 | NDS-OM membership | 7 days* |
| 4 | NDS-CALL membership | 7 days* |
| *Timeline indicates clear working days, excluding date of receipt of application complete in all respects. | ||
X. Internal Debt Management Department
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Primary Dealers (carrying PD business departmentally) | ||
| 1. | 1. License for Primary Dealer Business | 90 days |
| 2. Termination of PD license | 90 days | |
| Standalone Primary Dealers | ||
| 2. | 1. License for Primary Dealer Business | 90 days |
| 2. Termination of PD license | 90 days | |
| 3. For undertaking Portfolio Management Services | 60 days | |
| 4. To act as market makers in the Credit Default Swaps (CDS) | 45 days | |
| 5. Diversification of activities by PD | 45 days | |
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XI. Department of Co-operative Bank Regulation (DCBR)
A. Approvals/Permissions given by Central Office for Primary Urban Cooperative Banks
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Approvals/Permissions given by Central Office for UCBs | ||
| 1. | Extension of Area of Operation i) beyond adjoining districts and to the entire State of registration ii) beyond the State of registration iii) for multi-state UCBs |
90 days |
| 2. | Shifting of branches – Request from UCBs not conforming to the FSWM (Financially Sound and Well Managed) criteria for shifting of their offices/branches outside the centre/State | 90 days |
| 3. | Shifting of branches of UCBs outside the State of registration | 90 days |
| 4. | Permission to undertake intra-day short selling of G-Secs | 90 days |
| 5. | Permission to extend unsecured advances up to 25% of total assets subject to conditions prescribed in our circular dated April 3, 2010 | 90 days |
| 6. | Remission of Debt of Director related loans | 90 days |
| 7. | Grant of permission for raising Long Term (Subordinated) Deposits (LTD)/ Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preference Shares (PNCPS)/ Conversion of deposits to equity | 90 days |
| 2. Approvals/Permissions given by Regional Offices for UCBs | ||
| 8. | Shifting of offices to different wards/municipal areas | 45 days |
| 9. | Extension of time for submission of Form – V (Furnishing of details of Branches opened) | 90 days |
| 10. | Change of address to same municipal ward, post issue of authorization but before opening of branch | 90 days |
| 11. | Authorisation for opening of branches under Annual Business Plan and new off-site ATMs | 90 days |
| 12. | Approval for opening of specialized branches by UCBs | 90 days |
| 13. | Permission to extend internet banking facility to customers | 90 days |
| 14. | Permission for payment of dividend | 90 days |
| 15. | Change in name of bank | 90 days |
| 16. | Authorization to maintain/renew NRE accounts | 90 days |
| 3. Other applications received by the Department for recommendations but approvals/permissions granted by other Departments /Organisations for UCBs | ||
| 17. | Approvals related to Centralised Payment System | 45 days |
| 18. | MTSS | 45 days |
| 19. | AD-I and AD-II category licences | 45 days |
| 20. | Opening of current account/SGL account | 45 days |
| 21. | Clearing House memberships | 45 days |
| 22. | NDS-OM Membership | 45 days |
| 23. | Permission to extend mobile banking to customers | 45 days |
| 24. | Banker to Issue | 45 days |
| 25. | Merchant Banking | 45 days |
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B. Regulatory Approval for State and Central Cooperative Banks
1. Regulatory approvals granted without involving other departments/agencies
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| State and Central Co-op. Banks | ||
| 1. | Grant of loan/advance against the security of NRE deposits to a resident individual/ firm/ company in India | 30 days |
| 2. | Disposal of non-banking assets | 30 days |
| 3. | Investment in shares of other Co-operative Societies situated outside the area of the co-operative bank | 30 days |
| 4. | Permission to make investments in non-SLR securities | 30 days |
| 5. | Retirement of investments made in the deposits of PSUs / Companies / Corporations / UCBs / NBFCs, etc. and investments in mutual funds, non- PSU bonds – Approval of time-bound programme by Regional Office | 30 days |
2. Regulatory approvals involving inter-office/inter-agency coordination
| Sr. No. | Description of Regulatory Approval | Time required |
|---|---|---|
| State and Central Co-op. Banks | ||
| 1. | Grant of banking licence | 30 days |
| 2. | Permission to make investments in non-PSU bonds where prescribed criteria are not met | 30 days |
| 3. | Permission to issue Long Term (Subordinated) Deposits and Innovative Perpetual Debt Instruments | 30 days |
| 4. | Permission to take up insurance business and renewal thereof | 30 days |
| 5. | Permission for commencing co-branded credit card business and renewal of permission | 30 days |
| State Co-op. Banks | ||
| 6. | Grant of branch licence to State Co-op. banks | 30 days |
| 7. | Grant of permission to open Extension Counters | 30 days |
| 8. | Permission for opening specialized branches for conducting forex business, etc., and for up-gradation of existing extension counters into full-fledged branches | 30 days |
| 9. | Permission for shifting of a bank branch to a different locality/municipal ward other than the one mentioned in the licence | 30 days |
| 10. | Inclusion in the 2nd Schedule to RBI Act 1934 | 30 days |
Foot Note:
-
All the above estimated timelines for regulatory approvals of various departments (I to XI) are anticipated to be met by in most cases, but a few may exceed these timelines.
-
If departments are likely to exceed the timeline, they will revert to the applicant.
-
In case an applicant does not get a response within the indicated
timeline, they can approach the head of the concerned department. The
department head will respond with the status of the application, the
reason for delay, request for additional information, if any, as well
as likely time for disposal of the application.
-
In some situations, a change in procedure or in the environment
will change the estimated time for action. In such cases, the timeline
for approval will be modified appropriately.
- The timelines given in column 3 for all above Departments (I to XI) are subject to receipt of complete information/ documents from the banks/ institutions concerned as well as receipt of regulatory/ supervisory inputs/ due diligence reports/ approvals from other regulators and the concerned Government Agencies/ Departments.
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