RBI dismisses fake news on new cheque book rules from January 2027

The Reserve Bank of India on Saturday, 7 November 2026, dismissed as factually incorrect and misleading social media messages claiming that new cheque books with updated security standards would be introduced from 1 January 2027. In a post on X, the central bank said it had taken note of messages suggesting that the standard cheque books currently used under the Cheque Truncation System would change from 31 December 2026. The RBI clarified it is not introducing any such measures regarding CTS cheque books and urged the public to rely only on information from its official channels.

Separately, the RBI has proposed stricter documentation requirements for agricultural loans and changes to priority sector lending calculations under its draft Reserve Bank of India (Priority Sector Lending, Targets and Classification) Directions, 2026. Comments on the draft have been invited until 26 November. The proposed norms would require banks to maintain details such as the location of cultivated land, crops grown, and hypothecation of crops while verifying gold-backed agricultural loans, and to base sanctioned loan amounts on the scale of finance rather than solely on collateral value.