The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday cleared the decks for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to announce in-principle approval for new banking licences.
The RBI had sought permission of the EC before announcing the awardees, as the model code of conduct is in place in the run up to the elections.
Earlier on Tuesday RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said, "Once the Election Commission clears, we will be in a position to announce banking licences fairly quickly."
"It is not a governmental process and the notion of asking the EC was primarily because this is election season and we did not want the potential licensees to get their approvals under a cloud," Mr Rajan had added.
In February, the Bimal Jalan panel, which scrutinized applications for new bank licences, submitted its report to RBI.
About 25 players are in the fray for bank licences. Public sector units India Post and IFCI and private players such as Anil Ambani group and Aditya Birla group are among the applicants. Bajaj Finance, Muthoot Finance, Religare Enterprises and Shriram Capital have also applied.
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