Home › Circulars › RBI/2011-12/167

RRBs must replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all documents

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2011-12/167 · issued 07 Sep 2011 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI directs all Regional Rural Banks to substitute the term 'Small Scale Industries' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in internal guidelines and documents, aligning with government notifications from 2006 and 2009.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A payments & clearing officer in Indore, working at a Regional Rural Bank, must update the loan application form to replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' to ensure consistency with government definitions and to make it easier for borrowers to access priority sector lending and credit schemes.

What changed

RBI has instructed RRBs to replace the term 'Small Scale Industries' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all internal guidelines and documents. This follows government notifications from the Ministry of Small Scale Industries (2006) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry (2009).

What it means for you

RRBs must update their internal policies, loan documentation, and reporting formats to reflect the new terminology. This ensures consistency with government definitions and may affect eligibility criteria for priority sector lending and credit schemes targeting micro and small enterprises.

What you must do

Who it affects

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), RRB branches and controlling offices, Borrowers classified under micro and small enterprises

❓ Common questions

Why is RBI asking RRBs to change 'SSI' to 'Micro and Small Enterprises'?

The change aligns with government notifications from 2006 and 2009 that officially replaced the term 'Small Scale Industries' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' to reflect updated classification under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act.

What documents need to be updated?

All internal guidelines, instructions, loan documents, and reporting formats that reference 'SSI' must be revised to use 'Micro and Small Enterprises'.

Is there a deadline for compliance?

The circular does not specify a deadline, but RRBs are expected to implement the change promptly and acknowledge receipt to the RBI Regional Office.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2011-12/167 RPCD.CO RRB. BC.NO.18 /03.05.33/2011-12 September 7, 2011 The Chairmen All Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Dear Sir, Substitution of term Micro and Small Enterprises in place of SSI in the documents Copies of the notification No.S.O.1642 (E) dated September 29, 2006 issued by the Ministry of Small Scale Industries and S.O.563 (E) dated February 27, 2009 issued by Ministry of Commerce and Industry regarding substitution of term 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in place of the term 'Small Scale Industries' are enclosed. Kindly ensure that your internal guidelines / instructions are compliant with these notifications. 2. You are requested to issue suitable instructions to your branches / controlling offices. 3. Kindly acknowledge receipt of the circular to our Regional Office concerned. Yours faithfully (C.D. Srinivasan) Chief General Manager Encl: as above
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2011-12/167 · issued 07 Sep 2011. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Who does what — compliance checklist
🏦 Branch Manager
  • Issue instructions to all branches and controlling offices to adopt the updated terminology.
💻 IT / Systems
  • Review and update loan application forms, sanction letters, and reporting templates accordingly.
📜 Compliance
  • Replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all internal guidelines, circulars, and documents.
  • Acknowledge receipt of this circular to the respective RBI Regional Office.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), RRB branches and controlling offices, Borrowers classified under micro and small enterprises), your first concrete step on “RRBs must replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all documents” is: “Replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all internal guidelines, circulars, and documents.” (RBI issued this 07 Sep 2011).

  1. Circular: RBI/2011-12/167 -- RRBs must replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all documents
  2. Issued: 07 Sep 2011
  3. Action required: Replace 'SSI' with 'Micro and Small Enterprises' in all internal guidelines, circulars, and documents.
  4. Action required: Issue instructions to all branches and controlling offices to adopt the updated terminology.
  5. Action required: Acknowledge receipt of this circular to the respective RBI Regional Office.
  6. Action required: Review and update loan application forms, sanction letters, and reporting templates accordingly.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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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=6699&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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