Answer: (a)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is CORRECT: NBFCs cannot accept demand deposits. Under Chapter III-B of the RBI Act, 1934, no NBFC-including a Deposit-Taking NBFC (NBFC-D)-is permitted to accept demand deposits (savings accounts or current accounts where money is repayable instantly on demand). NBFCs-D can only accept Public Deposits in the form of Term/Fixed Deposits with a strict statutory maturity window of 12 to 60 months. This prevents extreme Asset-Liability Mismatch (ALM). Since NBFCs lend for specific, often long-term tenures (like vehicle or infrastructure loans), allowing depositors to withdraw cash instantly would collapse their liquidity.

Statement 2 is INCORRECT: All the NBFCs operating in India have to be registered with the RBI. While the RBI regulates the vast majority of the NBFC ecosystem, several specialized categories of NBFCs are exempt from registering with the RBI to prevent dual regulation.

Statement 3 is INCORRECT: NBFCs form part of the payment and settlement system and can issue cheque drawn on itself. Under Section 5(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, being part of the payment and settlement system and issuing cheques drawn on oneself is a core defining feature of a bank. Because NBFCs cannot hold demand deposits, they are entirely excluded from the primary clearing and settlement architecture of the country.

Statement 4 is CORRECT: Deposit insurance facility of DICGC is not available to the depositors of deposit taking NBFCs. The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) provides a safety net of up to ₹5 lakh per depositor, but this mandate extends only to commercial, cooperative, and regional rural banks.