A nidhi company is a type of company in the Indian non-banking finance sector, recognized under section 406 of the Companies Act, 2013. Their core business is borrowing and lending money between their members. They are also known as Permanent Fund, Benefit Funds, Mutual Benefit Funds and Mutual Benefit Company.

Governing law

Nidhi companies are governed by Nidhi Rules, 2014. They are incorporated in the nature of Public Limited company and hence, they have to comply with two set of norms, one of Public limited company as per Companies Act, 2013 and another is for Nidhi rules, 2014. No RBI approval is necessary to register the company, as RBI has specifically exempted this category of NBFC in India to comply its core provisions such as registration with RBI etc.

Nidhi company registration is simple and less complex as compared to other types of finance companies like NBFC which require RBI license to start. A nidhi company can be started with an initial capital of Rs.5 lakh and requires at least seven people to start with (minimum 7 members). Nidhi company registration also requires three directors initially.