The Reserve Bank of India has said that entities from Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and four other regions including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Hong Kong or Macau will require its prior approval to establish branch office or project office in India.RBI has released new guidelines for foreign entities to open a branch office (BO) or a liaison office (LO) or a project office (PO) in India.It has said that Permission of RBI will also be required for opening a BO/LO/PO in Jammu and Kashmir, North East region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The apex bank said that its approval would also be required if the applicant is a Non-Government Organization (NGO), a Non-Profit Organization, or a Body/ Agency/ Department of a foreign government.It further said that approval would also be needed if the principal business of the applicant falls in the four sectors viz, defence, telecom, private security and information and broadcasting.However, the RBI has clarified that in the case of proposal for opening a PO relating to defence sector, no separate reference or approval of Government of India shall be required if the said non-resident applicant has been awarded a contract by/ entered into an agreement with Ministry of Defence or Service Headquarters or Defence Public Sector Undertakings.