Q.When was the Reserve Bank of India established, and when was it nationalised? What is its present legal status?

The RBI's founding and its later nationalisation are two separate, commonly confused dates that mark its transition from a private shareholders' bank to a wholly Government-owned institution.

The Reserve Bank of India was established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and commenced its operations on 1st April 1935, initially as a shareholders' bank with its central office at Calcutta (later shifted to Mumbai in 1937). On the recommendation made after Independence, the RBI's entire share capital was transferred to the Government of India on 1st January 1949, and it was thereby nationalised.

Since nationalisation, the RBI has functioned as a wholly Government-owned institution. Its present legal status is that of a Statutory Company — created by its own special Act of Parliament (the RBI Act, 1934), not by registration under the Companies Act — exactly as with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC Act, 1956) and the State Bank of India (SBI Act, 1955).

Confusing the establishment date (1935) with the nationalisation date (1949), or assuming the RBI was always Government-owned from the start.