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RBI Updates IRAC Norms Master Circular for 2025-26

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet

Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2025-26/13 · issued 01 Apr 2025 · ~2 min read

Quick answerRBI issued a revised Master Circular on prudential norms for income recognition, asset classification, and provisioning (IRAC) as of April 1, 2025. It consolidates all instructions up to March 31, 2025, without introducing new guidelines. Banks must update their internal policies to align with this consolidated reference.

What changed

The revised Master Circular updates the previous version dated April 2, 2024, by incorporating all IRAC-related instructions issued up to March 31, 2025. It includes a list of consolidated circulars in Annex 5. No new instructions or guidelines have been added; it is purely a consolidation exercise.

What it means for you

Banks now have a single, updated reference document for IRAC norms, reducing the need to track multiple circulars. This consolidation ensures consistency in income recognition, asset classification, and provisioning practices across commercial banks (excluding RRBs). Lenders should use this circular as the authoritative source for compliance and audit purposes.

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

Replace the previous Master Circular (dated April 2, 2024) with this updated version for all IRAC-related compliance.
Review Annex 5 to identify any circulars issued between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, that are now consolidated.
Update internal policy documents, training materials, and system parameters to reflect the consolidated norms.
Ensure that NPA classification, provisioning, and income recognition processes align with the revised circular.

Who it affects

All commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks), Credit risk and compliance departments, Internal audit and loan review teams, Branch managers handling advances

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Decoded by BankPulse 2026-06-18 02:09 IST
repealed_by — Consolidation of Regulations — Withdrawal of circulars (28 Nov 2025)
Status change: withdrawn 03 Aug 2026, 04:00 IST

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

Does this Master Circular introduce any new IRAC norms?

No, it only consolidates all existing instructions issued up to March 31, 2025. No new guidelines have been added.

Which banks are covered under this circular?

All commercial banks except Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) are required to follow these prudential norms.

What is the effective date of this Master Circular?

The circular is dated April 1, 2025, and supersedes the previous version dated April 2, 2024.

📜 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 #67: DOR.STR.REC.9/21.04.048/2025-26 — "Master Circular - Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning Pertaining to Advances" dated”

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI

RBI/2025-26/13
 DOR.STR.REC.9/21.04.048/2025-26
 April 01, 2025
 All Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs)
 Madam/Dear Sir
 Master Circular - Prudential norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances
 Please refer to the Master Circular DOR.STR.REC.8/21.04.048/2024-25 dated April 2, 2024 consolidating instructions / guidelines issued to banks till March 31, 2024 on matters relating to prudential norms on income recognition, asset classification and provisioning pertaining to advances.
 2. Attached is the revised Master Circular , updated to reflect all instructions issued upto March 31, 2025 on the above matter, as listed in Annex 5 . It may be noted that this Master Circular only consolidates all instructions on the above matter issued up to March 31, 2025 and does not contain any new instructions/guidelines.
 Yours faithfully
 (Vaibhav Chaturvedi)
 Chief General Manager
 Encl.: As above
 MASTER CIRCULAR - PRUDENTIAL NORMS ON INCOME RECOGNITION, ASSET
 CLASSIFICATION AND PROVISIONING PERTAINING TO ADVANCES
 Table of Contents

Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2025-26/13 · issued 01 Apr 2025. 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=12822&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.