HomeCirculars › RBI/2006-2007/320

Infra Project NPA Norms: Time Overrun Relaxed to 1 Year

No longer current — replaced by Reserve Bank of India (Project Finance) Directions, 2025
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2006-2007/320 · issued 12 Apr 2007 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI extended the sub-standard asset trigger for infrastructure projects from 6 months to 1 year past the original completion date, effective March 31, 2007. This gives banks more headroom before classifying delayed infra loans as NPAs.

What changed

Earlier, any project (including infrastructure) turning sub-standard if commercial production started more than 6 months after the original completion date. Now, for infrastructure projects only, this grace period is doubled to 1 year. The change applies from March 31, 2007.

What it means for you

Banks financing infrastructure can now tolerate longer delays—up to one year—before the loan slips to sub-standard. This reduces pressure to immediately classify large infra exposures as NPAs due to common regulatory/land acquisition delays. However, the date of completion must still be fixed at financial closure.

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

All scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) financing infrastructure projects, Credit risk and NPA monitoring teams, Infrastructure project promoters and borrowers

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

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

Does this relaxation apply to non-infrastructure projects?

No. The 1-year grace period is only for infrastructure projects. All other projects continue with the earlier 6-month rule.

From when is this change effective?

The revised instructions are effective from March 31, 2007.

What if the delay is due to promoter inefficiency, not external factors?

The circular does not differentiate causes; it applies uniformly to all infrastructure project delays. Banks should still assess the root cause for provisioning.

📜 This document’s life story (1 recorded event, each backed by RBI’s own words)
Superseded by Reserve Bank of India (Project Finance) Directions, 2025
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2006-2007/320 DBOD No. BP.BC. 76 /21.04.048/2006-07 April 12, 2007 All Scheduled Commercial Banks (Excluding RRBs) Dear Sir, Prudential norms on Income recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances – Projects involving time overrun In terms of Sub-para (iv) of Para 4.2.17 of Master Circular DBOD No. BP.BC. 15/ 21.04.048/2006-07 dated 1 July 2006 on ‘Prudential norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances’ banks had been advised that, as regards the projects to be financed by them, the date of completion of the project should be clearly spelt out at the time of financial closure of the project and if the date of commencement of commercial production extends beyond a period of six months after the date of completion of the project, as originally envisaged, the account should be treated as a sub-standard asset. 2. Infrastructure projects require heavy fund outlays with long gestation periods due to many inherent factors such as statutory/ regulatory clearances, land acquisition, resettlement/ rehabilitation of the displaced people, etc. All these factors, which are beyond the control of the promoters, may lead to delay in project implementation and involve restructuring/ reschedulement by the banks. Accordingly, it has been decided to partially modify the above quoted asset classification norms for infrastructure projects alone, involving time overrun. 3. In case of infrastructure projects to be financed by banks, the date of completion of the project should be clearly spelt out at the time of financial closure of the project and if the date of commencement of commercial production extends beyond a period of one year after the date of completion of the project, as originally envisaged, the account should be treated as sub-standard. The revised instructions come into force with effect from 31 March 2007. 4. Please acknowledge receipt. Yours faithfully (Prashant Saran) Chief General Manager-in-Charge
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2006-2007/320 · issued 12 Apr 2007. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
🧰 Tools — save, print, templates & related

💬 Banker Discussion

Discuss this circular with fellow bankers — reply, upvote what helps, report what doesn’t belong. Be professional; no client data. Views are the commenter’s own, not BankPulse’s.

Loading comments…
BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 05 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=3413&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.
Public beta — plain-English informational summaries. Always verify against the official RBI source (circular number cited on every page) before making compliance, credit, treasury, audit, or operational decisions. · Join our WhatsApp channel ↗