India · Committee report
RBI FREE-AI: responsible AI evidence for banks and NBFCs
The Framework for Responsible and Ethical Enablement of AI (FREE-AI) is the report of a committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India, published in August 2025. It sets out seven guiding principles (Sutras) and 26 recommendations. They are advisory until the RBI issues directions, but they signal what lenders and other regulated entities will be expected to show: AI policies, inventories, fairness testing, and audits.
What the RBI FREE-AI asks of AI systems
The obligations most relevant to bias, risk, and accountability, summarised from the RBI FREE-AI framework.
- GovernanceBoard-approved AI policy
- Clear accountability for AI use, approved at board level.
- InventoryAI inventory
- An up-to-date record of AI models and use cases in production.
- FairnessFairness and equity
- AI must not produce unfair or discriminatory outcomes for customers.
- AssuranceAudits and monitoring
- Risk-based audits and ongoing monitoring of AI systems.
- ProtectionIncidents and disclosure
- Incident reporting and customer-facing transparency for AI-driven decisions.
Evidence FairMind helps you produce
FairMind links technical evidence to RBI FREE-AI obligations for a human reviewer to accept. It is not legal advice and does not decide compliance.
- An AI system register with owners, versions, and intended use
- Fairness evaluations for credit, pricing, and fraud models
- Findings and remediation history ready for internal audit
- Reviewer decisions that show human accountability
RBI FREE-AI questions
Who does RBI FREE-AI apply to?
Its recommendations are aimed at entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India, such as banks, NBFCs, and payment system operators, that build or use AI. They are not binding until the RBI issues directions.
How do I test a credit scoring model for bias?
Compare outcomes and error rates across the customer groups the model affects, against thresholds you set before testing. Then record the fixes and retest. FairMind keeps that chain together for audit.