Yes. ECS can be used to transfer funds to NRE and NRO accounts in the country. This, however, is subject to the adherence to the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2000 (FEMA) and Wire Transfer Guidelines.

Ans. The following payments are not eligible to be settled through ACU:-

1. Payments between Nepal and India and Bhutan and India, exception being made in the case of goods imported from India by an importer resident in Nepal who has been permitted by the Nepal Rastra Bank to make payments in foreign exchange. Such payments may be settled outside ACU mechanism; and

2. Payments that are not on account of export / import transactions between ACU members countries except to the extent mutually agreed upon between the Reserve Bank and the other participants; and

3. All eligible current account transactions including trade transactions with Iran should be settled in any permitted currency outside the ACU mechanism until further notice.

Dance troupes, artistes, etc., who wish to undertake cultural tours abroad, should obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

Ans : The following are the entry point norms for IDF-NBFC :

• Minimum Net Owned Funds (NOF) of Rs. 300 crore;

• Capital to Risk Weighted Assets (CRAR) of 15%;

• Net NPAs less than 3% of net advances;

• It should have been in existence for at least 5 years before application:

• It should have been profitable in the last three years;

• its performance should be satisfactory and free from supervisory concerns;

• It shall have at the minimum, a credit rating grade of 'A' of CRISIL or equivalent rating issued by other accredited rating agencies such as FITCH, CARE, BRICKWORK and ICRA.

The requirement is that the companies in the Promoter Group in which the public hold not less than 51 per cent of the voting equity shares shall hold not less than 51 per cent of the total voting equity shares of the NOFHC.[ para 2 (C) (ii) (b) of the guidelines] A company in which public holds 51 per cent need not necessarily be listed. For the purpose of these guidelines, ‘public shareholding’ implies that no person along with his relatives (as defined in Section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956) and entities in which he and / or his relatives hold not less than 50 per cent of the voting equity shares, by virtue of his shareholding or otherwise, exercises ‘significant influence’ or ‘control’ (as defined in Accounting Standard 23) over the company.

Ans. No. For any shortfall / default in completing the payment / settlement obligations, such entities will need to have a pre-approved line of credit facility from a bank. They will also have to ensure that appropriate liquidity support arrangements are in place with their bankers to avoid gridlock and to ensure business continuity. Any such shortfall / default in availability of funds by the PSP can entail appropriate regulatory action from the Reserve Bank, including review of CPS membership.

No.

Ans. Yes, under advice to Reserve Bank, FED, CO Cell, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110 001.

CSGL, i.e. Constituents' Subsidiary General Ledger account, means an SGL account opened and maintained with RBI by an agent on behalf of the constituents of such agent, i.e. a second SGL account opened by an agent with the RBI to hold the securities on behalf of their constituents. The constituents are known as the Gilt Account Holders (GAHs). Additional CSGL and / or Gilt Account can be opened only with the prior / specific permission of the Bank.