Home › Circulars › RBI/2010-11/208

NPCI and USEIL investments excluded from capital market exposure limits

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2010-11/208 · issued 21 Sep 2010 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI now excludes bank investments in NPCI and USEIL from the 40% net worth aggregate and 20% direct capital market exposure ceilings until listing. After listing, only excess over original investment counts.

What changed

RBI added NPCI and USEIL to the list of institutions forming crucial financial infrastructure. Consequently, bank investments in these entities are now excluded from both the aggregate 40% of net worth and direct 20% of net worth capital market exposure limits until they are listed.

What it means for you

Banks can invest in NPCI and USEIL without worrying about breaching capital market exposure caps, freeing up headroom for other investments. Post-listing, only the appreciation above the original investment will be counted, so early-stage investments remain protected.

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), Treasury and risk management teams, Compliance departments handling exposure norms

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

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

Does this exclusion apply to all investments in NPCI and USEIL?

Yes, until they are listed. After listing, only the investment amount in excess of the original pre-listing investment will count toward capital market exposure limits.

What are the specific exposure limits from which these investments are excluded?

They are excluded from the aggregate capital market exposure ceiling of 40% of net worth and the direct investment ceiling of 20% of net worth.

📜 This document’s life story (1 recorded event, each backed by RBI’s own words)
Repealed by RBI/2025-26/100 — Consolidation of Regulations — Withdrawal of circulars (28 Nov 2025)
RBI’s words: “Official withdrawal register entry #1610: DBOD.No.Dir.BC.41/13.03.00/2010-11 — "Items Excluded from Capital Market Exposure" dated September 21, 2010”
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2010-11/208 DBOD. No. Dir. BC. 41 /13.03.00/2010-11 September  21, 2010 All Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding  RRBs) Dear Sir, Items excluded from Capital Market Exposure Please refer to para 2.3.4(i) of our Master Circular DBOD. No. Dir.BC14/13.03.00/2010-11 dated July 1, 2010 on Exposure Norms in terms of which banks' investments in own subsidiaries, joint ventures, sponsored Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and investments in shares and convertible debentures, convertible bonds issued by certain institutions forming crucial financial infrastructure have been excluded from the aggregate exposure ceiling of 40 percent of net worth and direct investment exposure ceiling of 20 percent of net worth. 2. On a review, it has been decided to include the National Payments Corporation of India. (NPCI) and United Stock Exchange of India Ltd.(USEIL) as part of institutions forming crucial financial infrastructure. Accordingly, banks’ investments in NPCI and USEIL will also be excluded from the aggregate Capital Market Exposure ceiling of 40 percent of net worth and direct investment ceiling of 20 percent of net worth, till they are listed. After listing, the exposure in excess of the original investment (i.e. prior to listing) would form part of the Capital Market Exposure. Yours faithfully (P. R. Ravi Mohan) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2010-11/208 · issued 21 Sep 2010. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 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=6004&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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