The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 28, 2025, issued the Reserve Bank of India (Rural Co-operative Banks – Miscellaneous) Directions, 2025.
The following has been stated, namely: -
• It lays out a broad set of rules for rural co-operative banks — essentially state and central co-operative banks — under the RBI’s regulatory remit. Among the key provisions, the bank’s Board shall adopt policies on areas such as Business Continuity Planning and “mandatory leave” for staff in sensitive positions, and boards shall review these periodically.
• Banks shall also transfer balances from deposit accounts inactive for ten years or more to the Depositor Education & Awareness (DEA) Fund, with clear procedures for refunds and interest.
• The directions impose restrictions on certain financial conduct (for example, preventing banks from accepting deposits via unincorporated bodies, or associating with prize-chit schemes or lotteries) and set governance requirements like approvals for changing a bank’s name or bye-laws.
• Finally, the Directions require banks to maintain robust operational readiness — including contingency plans and full audit trails of unclaimed deposits and related records.
• This shall come into force from November 28, 2025.
[Notification no. - RBI/DoR/2025-26/319 DoR.SOG(SPE).REC.No.238/13-04-001/2025-26]
