The finance ministry has cleared the Reserve Bank of India’s draft guidelines on new bank licences with a rider that the existing 74% cap on foreign direct investment be retained.
The central bank, which had proposed capping FDI in new banks at 49% in the first 10 years, is likely to make the guidelines public and may seek comments from all stakeholders again. “We have given our final approval to the RBI and requested them to share the final guidelines after they incorporate comments from other stakeholders,” said a senior finance ministry official.