Reserve Bank of India has today released the draft ‘Guidance on Regulatory Expectations for Data Governance’ for public comments.

The draft Guidance is applicable to following regulated entities:

1. Commercial Banks

2. Small Finance Banks

3. Payments Banks

4. Local Area Banks

5. Regional Rural Banks

6. Urban Co-operative Banks

7. Rural Co-operative Banks

8. All India Financial Institutions

9. Non-Banking Financial Companies

10. Asset Reconstruction Companies

11. Credit Information Companies

2. Comments on the draft Guidance are invited from regulated entities, members of public and other stakeholders by August 17, 2026.

The comments / feedback may be submitted through the link under the ‘Connect 2 Regulate’ Section available on RBI’s website or alternatively be forwarded to:

The Chief General Manager, Operational Risk Group
Department of Regulation, Central Office
Reserve Bank of India
Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort
Mumbai – 400 001

Or

By e-mail with the subject line ‘Feedback on Guidance on Regulatory Expectations for Data Governance’

Background and Objective

With the increasing digitalisation of the financial sector and growing adoption of technology-driven business models, data has emerged as a critical asset for regulated entities (REs). As the volume, variety and velocity of data continue to increase, effective data governance has become essential to ensure that data remains accurate, consistent, secure and fit for purpose across functions and systems. Weaknesses in data governance and its management can lead to broader financial, operational, compliance and reputational risk for the REs. Recognising this, the Reserve Bank of India has today released the draft ‘Guidance on Regulatory Expectations for Data Governance’ to support REs in strengthening their data governance framework and promoting sound practices relating to data management across the data lifecycle. The Guidance sets out broad regulatory expectations relating to data governance, roles, architecture, metadata and lineage, quality, and third party arrangements involving data sharing.

(Brij Raj)           
Chief General Manager

Data governance expectations propose stronger lifecycle controls, quality standards, accountability and third-party data-sharing safeguards for regulated financial entities. Draft regulatory guidance on data governance proposes expectations for regulated financial entities to maintain data that is accurate, consistent, secure and fit for purpose. The framework addresses data-governance arrangements, defined roles, data architecture, metadata and data lineage, data quality, and third-party data-sharing arrangements. It applies to specified banking entities, financial institutions, non-banking financial companies, asset reconstruction companies and credit information companies, and invites stakeholder feedback on the proposed framework.