The Finance Ministry has recommended the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) to ease gold loan guidelines for small borrowers and suggested the implementation from January 2026.
The Ministry of Finance, under the guidance of Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, has reviewed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) draft directions on lending against gold collateral. The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, has submitted its feedback to the RBI with specific suggestions aimed at safeguarding the interests of small borrowers.
The DFS has emphasized that the proposed guidelines should not adversely impact small-ticket borrowers, especially those availing gold loans of up to ₹2 lakh. To ensure timely and efficient disbursement of loans to this category, DFS has suggested that such borrowers be exempted from the more stringent requirements proposed in the draft directions.
In addition, the DFS has noted that implementation of the proposed framework will require preparatory work at the field level. Accordingly, it has recommended deferring the effective date of the new guidelines to January 1, 2026, allowing sufficient time for smooth rollout and operational readiness.
The RBI is currently in the process of reviewing feedback from various stakeholders, including the public, on the draft guidelines. The central bank is expected to carefully consider the inputs received before finalising the regulatory framework.
The suggestions from the DFS have been formally communicated to the RBI, as part of the ongoing consultative process.
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