On 28 November 2025, the RBI repealed its earlier instructions for every core investment company (CIC) and replaced them with the Reserve Bank of India (Core Investment Companies) Directions, 2025. The RBI updated these Directions on 10 March 2026, and the update clarifies the manner in which owned funds are computed.
A CIC is a non-banking financial company (NBFC) whose assets mostly sit in the companies of its own group. The label depends on where the money is held and not on the business the company carries out.
The older directions of 2011 and 2016 no longer apply. Many articles available online were written before these changes, so they may describe rules that no longer exist.
The tests that decide who is a CIC
There are two asset tests. A company has to keep at least 90% of its net assets in equity shares, preference shares, bonds, debentures, debt or loans given to group companies. Within that, equity shares of group companies must form at least 60% of the net assets.
Registration is a separate matter. A CIC needs to register only when its total assets are Rs 100 crore or more, counted alone or together with other CICs of the group, and when it raises or holds public funds.
The remaining CICs are "Unregistered CICs", and they need not register under Section 45-IA of the RBI Act. An eligible CIC applies through the RBI's PRAVAAH portal within three months of becoming a CIC, while existing NBFCs converting to CICs follow a separate procedure.
Capital limits and the March 2026 change
A CIC has to maintain an Adjusted Net Worth (ANW) of at least 30% of its risk-weighted assets, and its total outside liabilities cannot go beyond 2.5 times the ANW. A group can have no more than two layers of CICs, and any investment by one CIC into another adds a layer.
The March 2026 amendment allows quarterly profits to be counted in free reserves, but only after the statutory auditors have completed a limited review or audit, and after adjusting for the average A dividend is a part of a company's profit that the board decides to pay to shareholders, usually in cash, in proportion to the shares held. Read the full meaning of Dividend paid in the last three financial years. Losses of the current financial year must be deducted fully. CICs need not deduct right-of-use lease assets when the leased asset is a tangible asset.
For CICs with overseas investments, the Directions refer to the NBFC overseas investment paragraphs, in addition to the rules of the Foreign Exchange Department.
