Tag: RBI

On January 20, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") introduced significant updates to its master directions on foreign investment in India ("Master Directions"). This move aims to provide clarity on various regulatory aspects, particularly concerning downstream investments by Foreign-Owned or Controlled Companies. ......

Pursuant to the enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act"), the personal data of a 'Data Principal' can be processed only in accordance with the DPDP Act and for a lawful purpose for which the Data Principal has given consent. This consent needs to be 'free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous' with a clear affirmative action. ......

On December 13, 2024, the Ministry of Finance introduced the Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities (Draft) Bill ("Bill"). This Bill was based on a report submitted by the Reserve Bank of India's ("RBI") working group on digital lending. The Bill envisages the banning of all lending entities that are: (a) not authorized by the RBI or other regulators; and (b) not registered under any other law to undertake a public lending business activity. . . . ...

On November 11, 2024, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI"), notified an operational framework for reclassification of Foreign Portfolio Investment ("FPI") to Foreign Direct Investment ("FDI") , once it exceeds the threshold percentage of 10% (ten percent) of the total paid-up equity capital (on a fully diluted basis) of an Indian company. ......

Indian investment in overseas funds is governed by a combined reading of the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022 (“OI Rules”) and the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022 (“OI Directions”) (jointly referred to as the “OI Framework”). ......

The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has reportedly been planning to initiate the establishment of a Digital India Trust Agency ("Agency"), in order to curb financial frauds and cybercrimes which have been uprising in the digital lending space. This Agency is intended to be involved in creating a systematic procedure of verifying legitimate digital lending application and resolving the concerns surrounding unauthorised digital lending apps. ......

In April 2024, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") issued the Draft Circular for the Regulation of Payment Aggregators ("Draft Circular"), in keeping with their pivotal role in the ever-evolving financial services industry. The Draft Circular is slated to update the extant Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways, as issued by the RBI on March 31, 2021 ("Guidelines"). ......

Payment and settlement systems are essential for the smooth functioning of financial markets, individual remittances, financial inclusion and growth of the economy as a whole. For this reason, central banks across the globe take a keen interest in their safe and efficient functioning. ......

In recent years, the digital payments space has grabbed eyeballs across India, with the upsurge in the use of debit cards, credit cards and UPI payments. The increase in the use of digital payments can be largely attributed to the increase in access to the internet, e-commerce websites, mobile applications and the pandemic that forced several individuals to shop online, even for basic necessities. ......