Chapter IIIB — Non-Banking Institutions and Financial Institutions
Section 45L: Power of Bank to call for information from financial institutions and to give directions
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 18 September 2026
Section 45L empowers RBI to call for information from financial institutions and to issue directions when necessary for regulating the credit system to the advantage of the country or for the purposes stated in the section.
Operative provisionOfficial sources mappedProvision-specific decode
Finin2min - Section 45L 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 45L empowers RBI to call for information from financial institutions and to issue directions when necessary for regulating the credit system to the advantage of the country or for the purposes stated in the section.
Operative limb
The power is broad but purposive: it supports supervision and directions to financial institutions and is frequently cited with Section 45JA/45M in modern NBFC Directions.
Legal boundary
A direction issued under Section 45L should be mapped to the regulated entity and subject matter, including any parallel authority under another statute.
Worked practical example
Facts. A digital-lending requirement applicable to an NBFC may derive from Sections 45JA, 45L and 45M together; the compliance note should cite the actual 2025 Digital Lending Direction rather than Section 45L in isolation.
Compliance points and common mistakes
- Do not decide the issue from the heading alone. Map the facts to the operative words of Section 45L and to each relevant subsection, clause, proviso or explanation shown above.
- Keep the statutory question separate from the operational overlay. A direction issued under Section 45L should be mapped to the regulated entity and subject matter, including any parallel authority under another statute.
- 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- Where the provision is historical, omitted or repealed, state that status prominently and do not present it as a current compliance obligation.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.Reserve Bank of India (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025Current consolidated digital-lending requirements; RBI/2025-26/36 dated 8 May 2025. For NBFCs it expressly relies on sections 45JA, 45L and 45M among other statutes.Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC)Cross-law RBI direction principally grounded in banking/PMLA authorities; linked here where relevant to regulated-entity onboarding and customer controls.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.RBI (NBFC – Prudential Norms on Capital Adequacy) Directions, 2025Current thematic prudential capital framework, issued under section 45L and allied statutes and amended in 2026.RBI (NBFC – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025Current thematic credit-facility framework issued 28 November 2025 and updated during 2026; enabling provisions include sections 45JA, 45L and 45M.
Questions and answers
What is the purpose of Section 45L?
Power of Bank to call for information from financial institutions and to give directions: Section 45L empowers RBI to call for information from financial institutions and to issue directions when necessary for regulating the credit system to the advantage of the country or for the purposes stated in the section.
Which statutory limb should be checked first?
Scope - Section 45L empowers RBI to call for information from financial institutions and to issue directions when necessary for regulating the credit system to the advantage of the country or for the purposes stated in the section.
What is the next legal boundary?
Operative limb - The power is broad but purposive: it supports supervision and directions to financial institutions and is frequently cited with Section 45JA/45M in modern NBFC Directions.
What record should support the conclusion?
Section 45L file evidence: Retain the RBI direction/circular, entity classification, information requested, submission evidence and control change implemented.
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 45L: 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.