Approvals and registrations
| Approval or registration | Authority and portal | When it is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Banking presence: branch, wholly owned subsidiary or stake in a private bank | Reserve Bank of India (RBI) | Before accepting deposits or lending as a bank. A foreign bank may use only one of the three channels. |
| NBFC certificate of registration (s.45-IA, RBI Act) | RBI | Before starting non-banking financial business. Most new applicants need net owned funds of ₹10 crore from the outset (existing NBFCs by 31 March 2027); P2P lenders and account aggregators need ₹2 crore, housing finance companies ₹20 crore, infrastructure finance companies ₹300 crore. |
| Payment aggregator authorisation (physical, online, cross-border) | RBI | Non-bank aggregators need authorisation under RBI’s directions of 15 September 2025, with net worth of ₹15 crore at application and ₹25 crore over the next three years. Banks need none. |
| Insurer or reinsurer registration | Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) | Before writing business; IRDAI also verifies FDI in insurers. Foreign reinsurers need net owned funds of ₹1,000 crore, reduced from ₹5,000 crore. |
| Pension fund registration | Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) | Before managing pension funds under the PFRDA Act, 2013. |
| Foreign portfolio investor registration | SEBI (FPI Regulations, 2019) | Before investing in listed securities through the portfolio route. |
| IFSC unit approval | SEZ authorities (Form-F) and IFSCA | File Form-F with the SEZ authorities and apply to IFSCA; the SEZ authority issues the final Letter of Approval and business starts after the regulator’s approval. |
| Land-border investment approval | Government route via the FIF/NSWS portal | Before investing where the investor, or a beneficial owner, is from a land-border country; the Ministry of External Affairs comments on such proposals. |
Capital thresholds at a glance
The licence capital must be in place before the regulator will register the entity.
| Entity type | Minimum capital stated | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| P2P lender or account aggregator | ₹2 crore net owned funds | RBI, NBFC registration |
| Most other new NBFCs | ₹10 crore net owned funds from the outset; existing NBFCs by 31 March 2027 | RBI, NBFC registration |
| Non-bank payment aggregator | ₹15 crore net worth at application; ₹25 crore over the next three years | RBI directions, 15 Sep 2025 |
| Housing finance company | ₹20 crore net owned funds | RBI, NBFC registration |
| Infrastructure finance company | ₹300 crore net owned funds | RBI, NBFC registration |
| Foreign reinsurer | ₹1,000 crore net owned funds (reduced from ₹5,000 crore) | Insurance laws amendment, 20 Dec 2025 |
For credit information companies, a single FPI must hold below 10% and acquisitions above 1% must be reported to RBI; see FDI rules.
The IFSC regulator
IFSCA, set up in April 2020, regulates IFSC business in place of RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA. Finance companies may run global or regional corporate treasury centres from GIFT IFSC, and GIFT IFSC also admits Global In-house Centres. The IFSC approval path has three parts: space agreed with the GIFT City developer (Provisional Letter of Allotment), Form-F with the SEZ authorities together with the IFSCA application, and the SEZ authority’s final Letter of Approval. See the set-up roadmap.
Timelines stated in the sources
The sources fix few licensing timelines for this sector. Those stated are:
- Existing NBFCs: reach ₹10 crore net owned funds by 31 March 2027.
- Payment aggregators: ₹25 crore net worth within three years of application.
- Land-border proposals in fast-track sectors: a 60-day decision target where the investor takes up to 49% and resident Indians keep majority ownership and control (DPIIT SOP, 4 May 2026).
- DPDP Rules 2025: notified 13 November 2025 with an 18-month phase-in; consent notices and processing must be ready by 13 May 2027.
Check: The sources give no processing time for RBI, IRDAI or IFSCA applications. Confirm current timelines with the authority. For the generic picture, see approvals and timelines.
What to check next
- Confirm which licence each product line needs and its minimum capital before committing a capitalisation plan.
- For a bank, choose one of the three channels (branch, wholly owned subsidiary, stake); the sources say only one may be used.
- For an IFSC unit, sequence the developer’s allotment, the SEZ Form-F and the IFSCA application together.
- If a land-border beneficial owner is present, file on the FIF/NSWS portal before investing.
- Diarise the 31 March 2027 NBFC capital date and the 13 May 2027 DPDP date.