The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) (First Amendment) Regulations2026, dated February 09, 2026, revising the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) framework under the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) Regulations, 2018. Consequent changes have also been made to the prescribed reporting formats- Form ECB 1/Revised Form ECB 1 and Form ECB 2.

In the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated October 01, 2025, the RBI proposed rationalizing the ECB framework. The amendments now notified implement this by linking borrowing limits to financial strength, requiring that borrowing costs be in line with prevailing market conditions, mandating arm’s length pricing for related party ECB, simplifying end-use and maturity norms, expanding the eligible borrower and lender base, and streamlining reporting requirements.