<p>This study presents the results of an investigation on the impact of revised earthquake hazard of India on design and performance of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. Fifteen buildings, of different categories (<i>viz.,</i> normal, important, and critical and lifeline buildings) located in five earthquake zones (Zones II to VI), are designed and detailed as per the existing design standards for the new revised estimates of earthquake hazard. The study uses nonlinear static analysis to estimate the inherent structural capacity at different damage states and nonlinear dynamic analysis to estimate the demand imposed by earthquake ground motions. It is observed that, the performance of RC moment-resisting frame (MRF) buildings is not satisfactory in regions of high seismicity (<i>viz</i>., Zones IV, V, and VI), especially when subjected to near-fault ground motions characterized by large amplitude long-period velocity pulses; large drift demand is imposed on these buildings leading to extensive damage or collapse. In this context, use of RC structural walls to supplement moment frames emerged as an important alternative to resist strong earthquake shaking, especially, near-fault ground motions. Further, the study presents an approach for selection of near-fault ground motion based on peak ground velocity (PGV) that significantly influences the structural response instead of using the more commonly used earthquake intensity measure, namely peak ground acceleration (PGA).</p>