Ans: Under Section 6(1)(o) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, a Government of India Notification dated August 3, 2000, specified 'Insurance' as a permissible form of business that banks could undertake. Following that, banks are permitted to enter the insurance business in accordance with the guidelines and with the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recognised ‘bancassurance’, which allows banks to provide physical infrastructure within select branch premises to insurance companies in order for them to sell their insurance products to bank customers.