The Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines to banks regarding penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum balances in savings bank accounts. The guidelines state that banks must notify customers via SMS, email or letter if their balance falls below the minimum requirement and allow at least one month to restore it before imposing charges. If the minimum balance is still not restored after one month, banks may recover charges proportionate to the shortfall amount as a percentage of the difference between actual and minimum balances. Banks must ensure charges are reasonable and do not cause the account balance to fall below zero.