Bank of baroda

Restrictions on Sale of the Equity Shares and Repatriation of Sale Proceeds
Under Indian regulations and practice, the approval of RBI is required for the sale of Equity Shares by a non-resident of
India to a resident of India as well as for renunciation of rights to a resident of India. However, sale of such shares under
the portfolio investment scheme prescribed by RBI does not require the approval of RBI provided the sale is made on a
recognized stock exchange and through a registered stock broker.
If the prior approval of RBI has been obtained for the sale of the Equity Shares, then the sale proceeds may be remitted
as per the terms of such an approval. However, if the Equity Shares are sold under the portfolio investment scheme then
the sale proceeds may be remitted through an authorized dealer, without the approval of RBI provided that the Equity
Shares are sold on a recognized stock exchange through a registered stock broker and a no objection/tax clearance
certificate from the income-tax authority has been produced.
Technology
Technology is emerging as a key-driver of business in the banking and financial services industry. Banks are developing
alternative channels of delivery like ATMs, telebanking, remote access and Internet banking etc. Indian banks have been
making significant investments in technology. Besides computerization of front-office operations, the banks have moved
towards back-office centralization. Banks are also implementing “Core Banking” or “Centralised Banking”, which provides
connectivity between branches and helps offer a large number of value-added products, benefiting a larger number of
customers. RBI Annual Report for the fiscal 2005 states that the use of ATMs has been growing rapidly and this has
helped in optimising the investments made by banks in infrastructure. Banks have joined together in small clusters to
share their ATM networks during the year. There are five such ATM network clusters functioning in India. The total number
of ATMs installed by the public sector banks stood at 8,219 at March 31, 2004, compared with 5,963 ATMs at March 31,
2003.
The payment and settlement system is also being modernised. RBI is actively pursuing the objective of establishing a
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system on par with other developed economies.