RBI Circulars 44-77 Dated 29/04/2026 - Amendments to Directions- Relief Measures in areas affected by Natural Calamities

RBI has issued a series of directions for commercial banks, small finance banks, local area banks, cooperative banks, NBFCs, and All India Financial Institutions. A bank need not wait for receipt of a formal request from a borrower and may decide to suo-moto implement a resolution plan for the impacted borrowers, The relief measures may include rescheduling of payments, moratoriums, conversion of interest dues into a separate credit facility, or additional financing. Borrowers will have an opt-out window of up to 135 days from the date of disaster declaration. The eligibility is restricted to standard accounts not overdue by more than 30 days at the time of the calamity. Such accounts can retain their standard classification upon resolution, and those slipping into NPA between the calamity and implementation may be upgraded to standard. The central bank has retained a 5% additional provisioning requirement and expanded the definition of natural calamities to include events recognised under the State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund.

— RBI Resolution of Stressed Assets Directions: (Link: RBI Circular 44/2026, 48/2026, 52/2026, 56/2026, 60/2026, 64/2026, 68/2026, and 72/2026, all Dated 29/04/2026)