The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued an updated master circular on the Lead Bank Scheme (LBS), consolidating all RBI guidelines and instructions in force up to 31 March 2025 for State and Union Territory Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC/UTLBC) convenor banks, lead banks and other member institutions. The circular restates how LBS fora should be run and how credit planning, monitoring and coordination are expected to support financial inclusion and priority-sector credit delivery. Operationally, it sets expectations for the functioning of Block Level Bankers’ Committees, District Consultative Committees and District Level Review Committees, including quarterly meeting cycles, annual meeting calendars, and a strengthened role for Lead District Managers (including quarterly public meetings for awareness, feedback and grievance redressal). A key focus is improving the integrity and timeliness of Annual Credit Plan reporting by moving towards standardised data flow through SLBC websites, with banks generating LBS data directly from core banking systems for upload and district/block-level download, supported by a standard operating procedure. The circular also reiterates the framework for monitoring low credit-deposit ratios, including Special Sub-Committees in districts below 40%, and the instruction to dispense with “No Due Certificate” requirements for lending (unless mandated by a government scheme), alongside alternative due-diligence options. The consolidated guidance notes that, as at 31 March 2025, 12 public sector banks and two private sector banks have lead bank responsibility across 782 districts, while SLBC/UTLBC convenorship across 28 States and 8 Union Territories is assigned to 11 public sector banks and one private sector bank, and that the LBS has been extended to metropolitan districts.

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