Governance Briefing — RBI Master Direction on IT governance for regulated entities

Executive briefing: On 26 April 2024 the Reserve Bank of India issued the Master Direction – Information Technology Governance, Risk, Controls and Assurance Practices. It becomes applicable to scheduled commercial banks (excluding regional rural banks), small finance banks, payments banks, credit information companies, and NBFCs from 1 April 2025. Boards must approve IT strategies, risk appetite, investment plans, and assurance frameworks covering cybersecurity, outsourcing, and business continuity.

Key governance signals

Board oversight. Boards must establish IT strategy committees, receive regular reporting, and ensure alignment with business objectives and risk appetite.
Risk management integration. Institutions must implement IT risk management frameworks covering asset inventories, change management, incident response, and third-party oversight.
Assurance expectations. The Direction mandates independent assurance through internal audit, IS audits, and vulnerability assessments with board visibility.

Action checklist

Update board charters, IT strategy committee mandates, and reporting templates to reflect the Master Direction’s requirements.
Conduct gap assessments across IT risk management, cybersecurity controls, and outsourcing governance.
Design integrated assurance plans combining internal audit, IS audits, and third-party reviews with remediation tracking.

Enablement moves

Implement governance dashboards that consolidate IT risk metrics, incident trends, and compliance status for board review.
Strengthen vendor management processes, including risk assessments, contractual clauses, and exit strategies.
Run tabletop exercises and resilience testing to validate incident response and business continuity arrangements.

Sources

Zeph Tech helps Indian regulated entities align board oversight, IT risk frameworks, and assurance cadences with the RBI Master Direction ahead of the April 2025 effective date.