The RBI set up a working group on Cheque Truncation and e-cheques, which studied the Truncation and Imaging processes of other countries and came out with the following recommendations:-

• In India the cheques should be truncated at the presenting bank itself and there should not be any amount based restriction.
• An electronic image based model will be the mode of truncation.
• The storage requirement of the electronic image of physical cheques is necessary and the preservation period should be eight years.
• Truncation and standardization of cheque format are seen as independent initiatives with the latter being implemented even after the introduction of cheque truncation. Therefore, currently the settlement should be on the basis of the current structure of the MICR fields.
• Public key infrastructure (PKI) to be adopted to protect data and image flow over the network. Digital signatures should be used to establish authenticity, non-repudiation and integrity
• The security requirements for the storage of images by the banks or the centralized warehousing agency should be in consonance with the requirements of the IT Act 2000.
• From the point of view of efficiency and control, RBI is planning to set up a centralized clearing system and a central warehouse in Delhiwhere a single agency or individual drawee bank can act as the points of storage.

Keeping all these points in minds, RBI has already floated a RFP to various vendors to provide it with an all-inclusive technology for cheque truncation. It has plans of starting the Project in the National Capital Region by July 2005 and then rolling it out to other metros. The overall aim being to eliminate physical transfer of cheques in the peak centers in the next two years time.