Chapter IIIB — Non-Banking Institutions and Financial Institutions
Section 45K: Power of Bank to collect information from non-banking institutions as to deposits and to give directions
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 18 September 2026
Section 45K authorises RBI to call for information from non-banking institutions about deposits and to issue directions regulating or prohibiting acceptance of deposits and related matters within the statutory scope.
Operative provisionOfficial sources mappedProvision-specific decode
Finin2min - Section 45K in 2 minutes
Statutory structure and clause / subsection decode
This map separates the operative limbs of this provision so thresholds, powers, conditions and exceptions are not collapsed into a single summary.
Scope
Section 45K authorises RBI to call for information from non-banking institutions about deposits and to issue directions regulating or prohibiting acceptance of deposits and related matters within the statutory scope.
Operative limb
The power covers information gathering as well as substantive deposit directions and can apply beyond a single NBFC product where the statutory class is engaged.
Legal boundary
Current deposit-taking analysis should use the 2025 Public Deposits Directions and any entity/category exemptions, while keeping Section 45K as the enabling source.
Worked practical example
Facts. A company offering 'membership advances' must first test whether the receipts are statutory deposits; relabelling the receipt does not avoid Section 45K if the substance falls within the deposit perimeter.
Compliance points and common mistakes
- Do not decide the issue from the heading alone. Map the facts to the operative words of Section 45K and to each relevant subsection, clause, proviso or explanation shown above.
- Keep the statutory question separate from the operational overlay. Current deposit-taking analysis should use the 2025 Public Deposits Directions and any entity/category exemptions, while keeping Section 45K as the enabling source.
- Do not convert an exception, exemption or discretionary RBI/Government power into an automatic entitlement. Record the authority, conditions and effective date.
- Where the provision is historical, omitted or repealed, state that status prominently and do not present it as a current compliance obligation.
Connected provisions and instruments
NBFC Registration, Exemptions and Scale Based Regulation — current frameworkCurrent operating framework is the RBI (NBFC – Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Directions, 2025, amended in 2026; this existing Finin2min URL is retained.RBI (NBFC – Governance) Directions, 2025Thematic NBFC governance direction issued 28 November 2025 and amended in 2026; enabling provisions include sections 45JA, 45K, 45L and 45M.RBI (NBFC – Acceptance of Public Deposits) Directions, 2025Current deposit-taking NBFC framework issued 28 November 2025 and amended in 2026.
Questions and answers
What is the purpose of Section 45K?
Power of Bank to collect information from non-banking institutions as to deposits and to give directions: Section 45K authorises RBI to call for information from non-banking institutions about deposits and to issue directions regulating or prohibiting acceptance of deposits and related matters within the statutory scope.
Which statutory limb should be checked first?
Scope - Section 45K authorises RBI to call for information from non-banking institutions about deposits and to issue directions regulating or prohibiting acceptance of deposits and related matters within the statutory scope.
What is the next legal boundary?
Operative limb - The power covers information gathering as well as substantive deposit directions and can apply beyond a single NBFC product where the statutory class is engaged.
What record should support the conclusion?
Section 45K file evidence: Maintain deposit master data, maturity/interest terms, depositor communications, return filings and Board/compliance evidence against the applicable Direction paragraphs.
Primary sources
- Department of Financial Services - consolidated RBI Act (states amendments through Finance Act, 2022)
- India Code - Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
Source control for Section 45K: use the official consolidated RBI Act for the statutory text and footnotes, then separately reconcile any post-Finance Act 2022 amendment, commencement notification or RBI instrument relevant to the event date.