Reserve Bank puts out five separate draft Directions to consolidate priority sector lending rules

5 November 2026

The Reserve Bank of India has reviewed the instructions it has issued over the years on Priority Sector Lending and has released drafts that pull them together. Instead of one common set, it proposes a separate Direction for each kind of regulated entity. Five drafts are out for comment, each called the Priority Sector Lending - Targets and Classification Directions, 2026, covering commercial banks, small finance banks, local area banks, regional rural banks and urban co-operative banks. Once the final Directions are issued, older instructions left out of them will stand repealed, and the Reserve Bank says it will notify those separately. Comments may be sent up to November 26, 2026, either through the Connect 2 Regulate section of the Reserve Bank website or by email to the Financial Inclusion and Development Department.