The winter session of Parliament has begun today, and on the first day, it was adjourned until 12 noon due to a dispute over the Adani bribery controversy.
During this session, the government plans to pass the Banking Amendment Bill, which will bring several changes to the country’s banking sector.
New Nominee Rules for Bank Accounts
Soon, new rules will be introduced for bank account holders regarding nominees. These changes will come after the Banking Amendment Bill is passed in Parliament.
Currently, the bill is pending in the Lok Sabha, and the government will try to get it approved during the winter session. The Union Cabinet had already passed the bill in August 2024.
One key change proposed in the bill is an increase in the number of nominees allowed for a bank account.
Currently, a bank account can have only one nominee, but under the new rules, account holders will be able to name up to four nominees.
Once the bill is passed, it will be mandatory for account holders to appoint four nominees for their bank accounts.
Key Features of the Banking Amendment Bill
Under the new rules, account holders can choose nominees in order of priority or assign specific shares of the account to each nominee.
If the account holder chooses the priority option, the rights to the account will be transferred to the nominees in the order they were listed after the account holder’s death.
For example, the first nominee will get the rights to the account, followed by the second, third, and fourth nominees.
Alternatively, if the account holder chooses to divide the account balance among the nominees, each nominee will receive a fixed share, with no priority given.
In addition to the nominee changes, the Banking Amendment Bill will also amend several key laws, including:
1) Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
2) Banking Regulation Act, 1949
3) State Bank of India Act, 1955
4) Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts, 1970 and 1980
These changes aim to modernize the banking sector and make the process of handling bank accounts more flexible for account holders.
