New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday said it has strengthened the digital lending ecosystem through a series of regulatory and technological measures, including the Reserve Bank of India (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025, a public directory of authorised digital lending apps and enhanced cyber safeguards to curb fake and illegal loan applications.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the government has been working closely with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other regulators to tackle unauthorised digital lending platforms operating in the country.
The RBI operationalised a Digital Lending Apps (DLA) Directory on July 1, 2025, listing apps associated with RBI-regulated entities to help customers verify the authenticity of lending platforms before availing services.
The Minister said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has so far blocked 87 illegal loan lending applications under the Information Technology Act after following due process. Sectoral regulators have also been empowered to direct the blocking of unlawful online content under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2025.
To strengthen customer protection, the RBI issued the Digital Lending Directions, 2025 on May 8, 2025, making it mandatory for regulated entities, lending service providers and digital lending apps to comply with norms relating to loan recovery, data privacy and grievance redressal.
The government and RBI are also engaging with major internet intermediaries and messaging platforms to identify and curb unauthorised loan apps. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs is proactively analysing digital lending platforms, while citizens can report cyber fraud through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and the 1930 cybercrime helpline.
Additionally, the SACHET portal and State Level Coordination Committees (SLCCs) enable citizens to lodge complaints against entities involved in illegal deposit or money collection activities. The RBI and banks are also conducting awareness campaigns through SMS alerts, radio broadcasts and electronic banking awareness and training (e-BAAT) programmes to educate the public on cyber fraud prevention and safe digital banking practices.
