Overview
- The Reserve Bank of India issued final guidelines on June 24, 2026 that classify any non‑banking financial company with standalone audited assets of Rs 1 lakh crore or more as an upper‑layer NBFC.
- The rules replace the earlier parametric scoring method with an asset‑size test, drop the ‘access to public funds’ criterion, and shorten the threshold review cycle from five years to three years.
- Identified upper‑layer NBFCs must list on stock exchanges within three years of being notified but NBFCs that are fully owned and controlled by the government are exempt from the listing mandate.
- Operational changes include assessing assets on a standalone basis, applying compliance only from the date RBI notifies an updated NBFC‑UL list, and raising the large exposure cap for NBFC‑infrastructure finance companies to 45% of eligible capital.
- Tata Sons remains at risk of inclusion because its standalone assets are estimated around Rs 1.75 lakh crore, its 2024 application to surrender NBFC/CIC registration is still under review, and the RBI has not yet published the updated upper‑layer list that will trigger obligations.