HomeCirculars › RBI/2005-06/125

Relaxed KYC for Flood Victims' Account Opening

No longer current — replaced by RBI (Local Area Banks – Responsible Business Conduct Amendment Directions, 2026)
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2005-06/125 · issued 16 Aug 2005 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI allows co-operative banks to open accounts for flood-affected persons with minimal formalities, accepting alternative ID proofs or neighbor introductions to speed up relief.

What changed

RBI advised co-operative banks to observe minimum formalities for opening accounts for flood-affected persons, accepting alternative ID proofs or neighbor introductions, applicable to Maharashtra and other states in similar situations.

What it means for you

Banks can now open accounts quickly for disaster victims without full KYC, reducing paperwork and delays. This helps disburse government relief cheques (₹50,000–₹2 lakh) efficiently. However, banks must still ensure basic identity verification to prevent misuse.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

State and District Central Co-operative Banks, Flood-affected individuals in Maharashtra and other states, Government agencies issuing relief cheques

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

What documents are acceptable for opening an account under this relaxation?

Banks can accept voter ID, driving license, office/school/college ID with address proof like electricity bill or ration card, or introduction by two neighbors with valid documents.

Does this apply only to Maharashtra?

No, the circular states it applies to other states also in similar disaster situations.

📜 This document’s life story (2 recorded events, each backed by RBI’s own words)
Superseded by RBI (Local Area Banks – Responsible Business Conduct Amendment Directions, 2026)
Clarified by Simplified KYC for Accounts with Low Balances at Co-op Banks
RBI’s words: “In terms of our circular RPCD.RF.AML.BC.30/07.40.00/2005-06 dated August 16, 2005”
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2005-06/125 RPCD.RF.AML.BC 30/07.40.00 /2005-06 August 16, 2005 All State and District Central Co-operative Banks Dear Sir, Facilitating opening of bank accounts for flood affected persons Please refer to our circular RPCD.AML.BC.No. 80/07.40.00/2004-05 dated February 18, 2004 on Know Your Customer Guidelines – Anti-Money Laundering standards. In terms of the above circular, banks were advised to formulate a customer acceptance policy and customer identification procedure to be followed while opening an account. 2. As you are aware, unprecedented floods have affected a large number of people. In Maharashtra State Government is arranging to issue cheques ranging from Rupees 50000/- to Rupees 2 lakh to affected persons who may or may not be having bank accounts and would need to quickly open bank accounts. In view of the calamity and the need to provide immediate succour, banks are advised to observe minimum formalities for enabling such persons to open a bank account quickly. The accounts may be opened with – a. introduction from another account holder or b. documents of identity such as Voter's Identity Card or a driving license, identity card issued by an office, company, school, college, etc. along with a document indicating the address such as Electricity Bill, Ration Card etc. or c. introduction by two neighbours who have the documents as indicated in para 2 (b) above or d. in the absence of the above any other evidence to the satisfaction of the bank. 3. The above guidelines would be applicable to other states also in similar situations. 4. Please acknowledge receipt to our Regional Office concerned. Yours faithfully (C.S.Murthy) Chief General Manager In-Charge
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2005-06/125 · issued 16 Aug 2005. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Topics: Co-operative Banks
Key dataSee the live numbers behind this topic: RBI Penalty Tracker, NPA / Asset-Quality Tracker — updated from official RBI data.
Key termsPlain-English definitions of terms in this circular — see the full Indian banking glossary. KYC / AML · Gross NPA (GNPA) · Deposit insurance (DICGC) · Scheduled Commercial Bank (SCB)

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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=2448&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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