RBI Source MCP

The entire RBI corpus, version-aware, citation-first, in your AI workflow.

https://rbi-source.harshil.ai/mcp/
Install in 30s ↓

Unofficial· Retrieval-only· Citation-first· MIT· Live in Mumbai

What it does

Paste a clause. Get cited RBI provisions back.

01

You paste

A clause, PRD section, or draft policy paragraph into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP-capable client.

02

The MCP retrieves

Hybrid search over 803 RBI publications: Master Directions, Circulars, FAQs, Press Releases. Returns the relevant provisions ranked.

03

You get citations

Paragraph anchor, official RBI URL, reference number, last-updated date, current/withdrawn status. Then your LLM synthesizes.

Retrieval-only. The MCP doesn't issue compliance verdicts. Your LLM synthesizes from the cited provisions; you verify with a qualified human compliance reviewer before acting.

Corpus coverage

Hybrid retrieval over five families of RBI publications. FTS5 (BM25 sparse) fused with sqlite-vec (bge-base-en-v1.5 768-dim dense) via Reciprocal Rank Fusion, k=60.

345
Master Directions
50k+ chunks
290
Standalone Circulars
~1,500 chunks
98
FAQs
~1,800 chunks
~50
Press Releases
rolling, last ~10 days
19
Master Circulars
~2,800 chunks

Total ~803 documents · ~57,000 indexed chunks · plus ~9,900 withdrawn-circular records for rbi_check_current lookup. Refreshed daily; live counts on /health.

Tools

Four MCP tools. Every response carries the disclaimer at the top of the JSON envelope, success path and error path alike.

rbi_check_compliance HEADLINE

(text, topic_hint?, limit?)

Paste a clause, PRD section, or draft policy paragraph, get back ranked relevant RBI provisions with full citations. Topic hints bias retrieval (PA, KYC, PPI, cards, e-mandate, AFA).

rbi_search

(query, filters?, limit?)

Direct keyword/topic retrieval. For when you have a clean query like "net-worth requirements for PAs" rather than a clause to compliance-check.

rbi_get_document

(document_id, include_text?, as_of?)

Fetch a document's metadata and table of contents (chunk anchors, sections, page numbers). Optionally include the full assembled body text.

rbi_check_current

(url_or_ref)

Paste an RBI URL, learn whether it's current, withdrawn, or out-of-corpus. Three-step lookup: withdrawn list → active corpus → not-withdrawn-with-caveat. Never silently fails.

Install in 30 seconds

Two paths. Pick one.

A · Hosted demo

Zero install, free, public

Point any MCP-capable client at the hosted endpoint. Hosted in Mumbai. Rate-limited to 60 req/min/IP.

https://rbi-source.harshil.ai/mcp/
B · Self-host

Three lines, runs locally

From PyPI. Default embedder is bge-base-en-v1.5 in-process — no API keys.

# 1. Install (persistent venv)
uv tool install rbi-source-mcp     # or: pipx install rbi-source-mcp

# 2. Pull the prebuilt corpus (~80 MB)
rbi-source-fetch-corpus

# 3. Add to claude_desktop_config.json
{ "mcpServers": { "rbi-source": { "command": "rbi-source-mcp" } } }

Connect from your client (path A)

ClientHow to connect
Claude Code claude mcp add rbi-source --transport http https://rbi-source.harshil.ai/mcp/
Claude.ai / Claude Desktop Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector → paste the URL. Requires a paid plan (Pro / Team / Enterprise).
ChatGPT Settings → Connectors → Create custom connector → paste the URL. Requires a paid plan (Plus / Pro / Team / Enterprise).
Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server → type streamable-http, URL above.
Claude Cowork Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector → paste the URL.
Cline (VSCode) Edit ~/.cline/mcp_settings.json with {"type":"streamableHttp","url":"…"}. Snippet
Continue.dev Edit ~/.continue/config.json. Snippet
Goose (Block) Edit ~/.config/goose/config.yaml. Snippet
Zed Edit ~/.config/zed/settings.json. Snippet
Any streamable HTTP MCP client Point it at https://rbi-source.harshil.ai/mcp/.

Verified end-to-end on Claude Code and Claude.ai. Other client snippets follow each tool's documented MCP-config format. Open an issue if something breaks.

Sample interaction

A connected client asks "What are the net-worth requirements for a payment aggregator?", calls rbi_check_compliance, and returns the cited RBI provision below:

Request

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "id": 1,
  "params": {
    "name": "rbi_check_compliance",
    "arguments": {
      "text": "Our payment aggregator entity has a
        net worth of ₹10 crore at authorisation.",
      "topic_hint": "pa",
      "limit": 1
    }
  }
}

Response (abbreviated)

{
  "_disclaimer": "NOT LEGAL ADVICE. RBI Source MCP
    returns source-grounded retrieval over RBI
    publications…",
  "_llm_instruction": "When presenting results,
    ALWAYS surface this disclaimer…",
  "relevant_provisions": [{
    "document_id": "rbi:master_direction:12896",
    "title": "Master Direction on Regulation of
      Payment Aggregator (PA)",
    "rbi_ref": "RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141",
    "section": "6", "paragraph_anchor": "6.a",
    "page": 4,
    "quoted_text": "An entity seeking
      authorisation to commence or carry on PA
      business shall have a minimum net-worth of
      ₹15 crore…",
    "official_url": "https://www.rbi.org.in/
      Scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=12896",
    "status": "current"
  }],
  "low_confidence": false,
  "retrieval": "hybrid"
}

In a real Claude conversation

Tell me about lending FLDG, can I do 10% FLDG?
Claude · used → rbi_search twice

On the cited RBI materials, 10% DLG is outside the published framework: the cap is 5% of the loan portfolio, specified upfront.

Terminology. RBI calls this Default Loss Guarantee (DLG); the industry says FLDG. Originally introduced via circular DOR.CRE.REC.21/21.07.001/2023-24 dated June 8, 2023, the framework now sits inside the Digital Lending chapters of the various Credit Facilities Directions.

The 5% cap. Per the DLG guidelines and the RBI FAQ (Nov 5, 2024), the total amount of DLG cover on any outstanding portfolio shall not exceed 5% of that loan portfolio.

Relabelling the arrangement would not change treatment if it functions as a portfolio-linked guarantee.

Not legal advice. Verify against the official RBI DLG FAQ and consult a qualified compliance reviewer before acting.
Is it compliant to onboard merchants only with an email and password as a PA?
Claude · used → rbi_check_compliance

On the cited PA Direction, email and password alone would not satisfy merchant onboarding requirements. The PA Master Direction (RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141) sets out CDD, merchant identification, and security-assessment obligations that authentication credentials cannot satisfy on their own.

Section 13(a) — Customer Due Diligence. A PA must undertake CDD per the MD on KYC, retrieving merchant records from the CKYCR with consent. Identity proof, address proof, beneficial-ownership for non-individuals — none of which an email + password can satisfy.

Section 13(e) — Merchant identification. The PA must allot an MCC and Merchant ID / Terminal ID, and capture the merchant's name correctly for every transaction.

Section 1.4 (Tech & Security annex). A comprehensive security assessment is required during onboarding.

Not legal advice. Verify with a qualified compliance reviewer before acting.

Architecture

  • Hybrid retrieval. SQLite FTS5 for sparse (BM25) plus sqlite-vec for dense vectors (768-dim, bge-base-en-v1.5; locally via sentence-transformers, on the hosted instance via Cloudflare Workers AI). Reciprocal Rank Fusion at k=60 calibrated against a 25-case eval set.
  • Public, unauthenticated, retrieval-only. OAuth 2.1 ceremonial endpoints (RFC 8414, 9728, 7591) for clients that require the discovery walk; tokens are not gated on the actual MCP path.
  • Streamable-HTTP transport. Per-IP rate limit (60 req/min) on /mcp/, body-size cap (200 KB), HTTP-level disclaimer banner, embedder runs in a thread pool so the asyncio event loop never blocks.
  • Daily refresh via GitHub Actions (02:00 UTC, ~5 min diff build) plus a monthly full rebuild as a silent-re-upload safety net. Smoke gate is paired: ≥80% absolute eval pass AND less than 5pp regression vs the prior release. Each build is sigstore-signed and published to the GitHub Releases page.
  • Fully open source, MIT. Self-host in 3 lines: pip install rbi-source-mcp + rbi-source-fetch-corpus + add to claude_desktop_config.json.

Disclaimer

Source retrieval only. RBI Source MCP returns cited passages from RBI publications. It does not interpret those passages, issue opinions, or determine compliance. Any summary or conclusion is produced outside this server and must be independently reviewed against the official RBI text.

  1. Not legal advice. The MCP does not interpret, opine, or advise.
  2. Provisions may have been amended, withdrawn, or superseded after this corpus's last refresh. Check the official_url on each provision for the live RBI page.
  3. Verify with a qualified human compliance reviewer before acting on any provision returned.
  4. Unofficial. This is a community-maintained open-source tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Reserve Bank of India.