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October 2026
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FEMA & RBIRBI issues Credit Valuation Adjustment Framework Directions, 2026 for commercial banks, effective 1 April 2027; six amendment directions issued the same day
From 1 April 2027Rule changeRBI has issued the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Credit Valuation Adjustment Framework) Directions, 2026, which set out how commercial banks must compute the capital charge for CVA risk on derivatives. The Directions come into effect from 1 April 2027. Six amendment directions were issued the same day: two take effect from 1 April 2027 and four, on exposures to qualifying central counterparties, from the date of issue.
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FEMA & RBIRBI raises repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50%, changes stance to calibrated tightening; SDF 5.25%, MSF and Bank Rate 5.75% with immediate effect
Repo rate 5.50%Rule changeThe Monetary Policy Committee, at its 63rd meeting on 5–7 October 2026, voted unanimously to increase the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent and changed the stance to calibrated tightening. The SDF rate stands at 5.25 per cent and the MSF rate and Bank Rate at 5.75 per cent, all with immediate effect. RBI projects real GDP growth of 7.1 per cent and CPI inflation of 5.2 per cent for 2026-27.
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FEMA & RBIRBI issues Master Circular on credit facilities to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: what banks must do
Master Circular, 1 Oct 2026RBI has issued its Master Circular consolidating instructions to banks on credit facilities to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It covers credit planning, help with applications, no insistence on deposits, rejection of loan applications only at the next higher level, the 40 per cent share under the DRI scheme, the credit guarantee scheme for SC entrepreneurs, and monitoring through a special cell at Head Office.
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FEMA & RBIRBI withdraws 268 currency-management circulars issued between 1976 and 2025 after consolidating them into Master Directions
268 circulars withdrawnRule changeRBI has withdrawn 268 circulars and guidelines on currency management, dated from 9 August 1976 to 24 April 2025. Some have been consolidated into function-wise Master Directions and subject-specific instructions; others have become obsolete or redundant. A separate circular of the same day lets a bank’s Board delegate monitoring of ATM cassette swaps to a Committee of Executives.
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FEMA & RBIRBI allows one-time approval for mutual funds, insurers and pension funds to re-acquire major shareholding in a bank, up to 10 per cent
One-time approval, up to 10%ReliefRBI has amended its directions on acquisition and holding of shares or voting rights in banks. SEBI-registered mutual funds, IRDAI-registered insurers and PFRDA-registered pension funds outside the bank’s promoter group can get a one-time approval, through PRAVAAH, for subsequent acquisitions of major shareholding up to 10 per cent. Prior approval for the initial acquisition stays mandatory.
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FEMA & RBINRD-CSR return on non-resident deposits to be filed on RBI’s CIMS Sankalan portal as return R012; 2013 XBRL circular superseded
File by 10th of next monthAction neededRBI has issued a fresh circular on the monthly Non-Resident Deposits – Comprehensive Single Return (NRD-CSR). The return, code R012, is filed on the CIMS Sankalan portal through one of three channels, on or before the 10th of the following month. The circular supersedes A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 19 of 7 August 2013, which provided for filing on the XBRL platform.
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FEMA & RBIForm A2 remittances: authorised dealers’ internal guidelines can now be approved by a Board committee or management committee, says RBI
A.P. (DIR) Circular 23ReliefRBI has modified its July 2024 circular on online submission of Form A2. Authorised dealers may now frame their internal guidelines for outward remittances with the approval of the Board or of any Board Committee / Management Committee to which the Board has delegated powers. All other instructions of the 2024 circular remain unchanged.
September 2026
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CustomsSAED on diesel exports cut to ₹16 per litre and on ATF exports to ₹10.5 per litre from 1 October 2026: Notifications 52 and 53/2026-Central Excise
Diesel ₹16, ATF ₹10.5 per litreReliefTwo Central Excise notifications dated 30 September 2026 revise the Special Additional Excise Duty on exports of diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel with effect from 1 October 2026: diesel from ₹20 to ₹16 per litre and ATF from ₹15 to ₹10.5 per litre. The notifications issued since 3 August show the rate on diesel falling from ₹24 and on ATF from ₹22.
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FEMA & RBIExporters get nine months to bring export proceeds home from 1 October 2026: RBI amends the new FEMA export-import regulations, notified with fifteen, before they take effect
Export proceeds: 9 monthsRule changeRBI has amended regulation 5(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 before they took effect. The period to realise and repatriate export value is nine months instead of fifteen, and twelve months instead of eighteen where the export is invoiced or settled in rupees. The amendment is in force from 1 October 2026.
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FEMA & RBIExim Bank’s ₹4,850 crore line of credit to Maldives: at least 75% of contract value to be supplied from India, no agency commission — A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 22
₹4,850 crore LoC to MaldivesNew facilityRBI has notified the terms of the Government of India supported Line of Credit of ₹4,850 crore extended by Exim Bank to the Government of Maldives for developmental projects. The agreement is effective from 27 August 2026. Goods, works and services worth at least 75% of the contract price must be supplied from India, and no agency commission is payable on exports under the LoC.
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FEMA & RBIBanks must value unquoted InvIT and REIT units at disclosed NAV — and at ₹1 if NAV is not disclosed as SEBI requires or the units are infrequently traded
InvIT/REIT units: NAV or ₹1ClarifiedRBI has inserted paragraphs 84A and 84B in the Commercial Banks investment portfolio Directions, 2025 to bring uniformity in how banks value units of Infrastructure Investment Trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts. Quoted units follow the rules for quoted securities; unquoted units are valued at the NAV disclosed by the trust, failing which at ₹1. In force from 22 September 2026.
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FEMA & RBIRBI finalises rules on novation of OTC derivative contracts; instructions folded into four existing Directions and apply from 22 September 2026
OTC derivative novationRule changeRBI has finalised its instructions on novation of OTC derivative contracts, first released as a draft on 9 July 2025. Instead of a separate direction, the instructions are inserted in the four Directions governing OTC foreign exchange, rupee interest rate, government securities and credit derivatives. They apply to any novation undertaken on or after 22 September 2026.
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FEMA & RBIRBI issues final Basel III market-risk capital rules for commercial banks: Simplified Standardised Approach from 1 April 2027
Market risk rules: 1 Apr 2027Rule changeRBI has issued the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Minimum Capital Requirements for Market Risk) Directions, 2026, finalising draft guidelines of 17 February 2023. Banks must use the Simplified Standardised Approach, with capital computed for interest rate, equity and foreign exchange risk. The Directions take effect from 1 April 2027.
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FEMA & RBIBanks can accept overseas-certified KYC documents from Foreign Portfolio Investors: RBI amends the Commercial Banks KYC Directions
KYC: certified copy for FPIsReliefRBI has amended paragraph 5(1)(v) of the Commercial Banks – Know Your Customer Directions, 2025. The option of taking an original certified copy of KYC documents — certified by an overseas bank branch, a notary abroad, a court magistrate, a judge or the Indian Embassy/Consulate — was available for NRIs and PIOs. It now also covers Foreign Portfolio Investors, with immediate effect from 18 September 2026.
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FEMA & RBIRBI draft: banks to follow an SOP for temporary debit holds on accounts linked to mule activity and cyber fraud
Debit-hold SOPComments invitedThe draft KYC Amendment Directions, 2026 follow a Supreme Court order of 4 August 2026. Comments were invited up to 2 October 2026.
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FEMA & RBIRBI cuts short the FCNR(B)/NRE deposit relief window to 31 August 2026: CRR-SLR exemption, interest-rate relaxation and priority-sector carve-out all end a month early
FCNR(B)/NRE window: 31 AugRule changeThe temporary reliefs on fresh FCNR(B) deposits of three to five years and NRE term deposits of three years or more were to run until 30 September 2026. On 25 August 2026 RBI moved the end date to 31 August 2026 for the CRR/SLR exemption and the interest-rate relaxation. On 11 September 2026 the priority-sector (ANBC) exclusion was aligned to the same date.
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FEMA & RBIRBI recognises Unified Fintech Forum as a Self-Regulatory Organisation for FinTech
SRO-FTNew facilityRBI examined the application of UFF against its SRO-FT Framework. FinTech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) was recognised as the first SRO-FT in August 2024.
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SEBISEBI launches “Demat 2.0” pilot for tokenised corporate bonds; three issuers raise ₹1,025 crore, funds leg settled in RBI’s wholesale e₹
Demat 2.0: ₹1,025 crore raisedNew facilitySEBI has announced the launch of “Demat 2.0”, a pilot in which corporate bonds are created as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the depositories and settled against RBI’s wholesale CBDC (e₹). REC, L&T and IIFL have issued tokenised bonds aggregating ₹1,025 crore. Credit rating, debenture trustee, listing and disclosure requirements continue to apply in full.
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FEMA & RBIRBI withdraws seven old FEMA circulars — five on ECB, one on tax-free bonds, one on MTSS sub-agents: A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 21
7 FEMA circulars withdrawnRBI is reviewing every circular issued under FEMA since 1 June 2000. By A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 21 dated 8 September 2026 it has withdrawn seven circulars issued between 2012 and 2015 that had ceased to be operative: five on External Commercial Borrowings, one on non-resident investment in tax-free bonds and one on the Money Transfer Service Scheme.
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FEMA & RBINatural-calamity relief: banks, NBFCs and AIFIs to file a half-yearly return on RBI’s CIMS portal within 30 days; monthly return for commercial banks discontinued
Half-yearly return on CIMSRule changeRBI has asked all regulated entities to report relief measures extended in areas affected by natural calamities through a half-yearly return on the CIMS portal. The return is due within 30 days of each half-year — by 30 October for the half-year ending 30 September and by 30 April for the half-year ending 31 March. The earlier monthly return for Scheduled Commercial Banks stands discontinued from 1 July 2026.
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