New RBI Norms Not Applicable to Existing Projects

Importantly, the RBI clarified that the increased provisioning requirement was not applicable for existing projects.

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The draft norms proposed higher provision for existing projects too.

For under-construction projects where the aggregate exposure of the lenders is up to ₹1,500 crore, no individual lender should have an exposure which is less than 10 per cent of the aggregate exposure.

"For projects where aggregate exposure of all lenders is more than ₹1,500 crore, the exposure floor for an individual lender shall be 5 per cent or ₹150 crore, whichever is higher," the final norms said.

"Final guidelines on project finance comes as a relief to the lenders as, for operational projects, the extant requirement continues at 0.4 per cent, which is lower than 1-2.5 per cent indicated in the earlier draft," said A M Karthik, senior vice president & co-group head, financial sector ratings, Icra Ltd.