Examples of Development Banks in India

Examples of development banks in India: 1. Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) 2. State Finance Corporations (SFCs) 3. Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) 4. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) 5. Unit Trust of India (UTI) 6. Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India (IRBI)/ Industrial Investment Bank of India (IIBI) 7. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India and a Few Others.

1. Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI):

Industrial Finance Corporation is the first industrial development bank set up by the Government of India in July 1948. It was established with a view to provide medium and long-term credit to the eligible industrial units in the country.

It extends financial assistance to large and medium sized industrial units in both private and public sectors and also to cooperatives. As a development bank, the IFCI also undertakes a number of promotional activities, some on its own and others jointly with other All- India financial institutions.

Functions:

The IFCI provides assistance in the following forms:

(i) It grants loans and advances to industrial concerns both in rupees and foreign currency repayable within 25 years. The limit of assistance to any single concern now is Rs. 1 crore. Under special circumstances, the limit of assistance can be raised with the permission of the government.

(ii) It subscribes to the shares and debentures issued by the industrial concerns.

(iii) It underwrites the issues of stocks, shares, bonds, debentures of the industrial concerns subject to the condition that such stocks, shares, etc., are disposed of by the Corporation within a period of 7 years from the time of acquisition.

(iv) It guarantees- (a) rupees loans raised from scheduled banks or state cooperative banks by the industrial concerns, (b) foreign currency loans raised from foreign institutions, and (c) deferred payments in respect of machinery imported from abroad or purchased from within the country

(v) In recent years, the Corporation has started taking interest in the promotional activities such as organising techno-economic surveys, setting up of technical consultancy organisations etc.

Lending Criteria:

While granting a loan, the Corporation takes into consideration- (a) the importance of the industry to the national economy; (b) the cost and the feasibility of the scheme for which loan is required; (c) the managerial competence; (d) the availability of the adequate raw materials and technical personnel; (e) the quality of and the country’s demand for the product to be manufactured.

To start with, the Corporation was expected to provide financial assistance only to the industrial units in the private and cooperative sectors, but now public sector and joint sector units have also become eligible for assistance.

The assistance is available both for new industrial projects, and for the renovation, modernisation, expansion or diversification of the existing units. Generally loans are provided for the purchase of plant and machinery, construction of factory building, purchase of land for the factory etc. Corporation funds are not available for the payment of existing loans or for raising working capital (e.g., purchasing raw material).

Capital:

The capital resources of the IFCI comprise of- (a) share capital and reserves, (b) bonds and debentures, (c) public deposits, and (d) other borrowings. The Corporation started with the authorised capital of Rs. 10 crore and now it is Rs. 50 crore. The paid-up capital was Rs. 5 crore to start with; on June 1986, it was Rs. 45 crore.

The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) accounts for 50 per cent of the share capital of the Corporation. The remaining part is contributed by the scheduled commercial banks, insurance companies, investment trust and cooperative banks. The Government of India has guaranteed the payment of its capital and a minimum annual dividend of 2 per cent.

The Corporation has also built up sizable reserves. It is also authorised to raise funds by issuing bonds and debentures. It can also accept deposits from the public. It is also authorised to borrow from the government, the Reserve Bank, the Industrial Development Bank of India, and the foreign loans.

IFCIL:

For ensuring greater flexibility and an ability to respond to the needs of the changing financial system, the Industrial Finance Corporation of India Limited (IFCIL) was incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 1956 on 21 May 1993. Thus, IFCI became the first institution in the financial sector in India to be converted from a statutory corporation into a company.

Financial Assistance:

Over the years, the IFCI has been playing an important role in financing the industries. The financial assistance sanctioned by the Corporation has increased considerably from Rs. 26.7 crore in 1961-62 to Rs. 32.3 crore in 1970-71 and further to Rs. 798.8 crore in 2001-02.

The amount of assistance disbursed in 1961-62 was Rs. 8.3 crore; it raised to Rs. 17.4 crore in 1970-71 and to Rs. 1083.8 crore in 2001-02. Since its inception in 1948, the cumulative finance sanctioned and disbursed upto December 1992 aggregated to Rs. 14609 crore and Rs. 9756 crore respectively.

Features:

Important features of the working of the IFCI are as follows:

(i) The Corporation is expected to give special attention to the following categories of projects:

(a) The projects promoted by new entrepreneurs and technologists;

(b) The projects located in the less developed areas;

(c) The projects based on indigenous technology or aimed at exploring new areas of technology;

(d) The projects having prospects of earning foreign exchange or import substitution;

(e) The projects providing inputs for increasing agricultural production; and

(f) The projects fulfilling the increased demand for consumer goods.

(ii) While granting finance, greater emphasis is on the setting up of the new projects; over the years, new projects have accounted for about two-third of the total assistance.

(iii) The major beneficiaries of the financial assistance from the IFCI are the private corporate sector and the cooperative sector. In the cooperative sector, the loans sanctioned to sugar industry are more significant.

(iv) Industry-wise distribution of the assistance shows that, more than three-fourth of the aggregate assistance was sanctioned to sugar, chemicals, non-ferrous metals, engineering, fertilisers, textiles and paper industries.

(v) Larger proportion of assistance has been extended to the developed regions of the country. For example, more than 50 per cent of the total financial assistance is received by the four industrially advanced states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

(vi) The Corporation participates in the Soft Loan Scheme introduced by the Industrial Development Bank.

(vii) The IFCI sponsored the Risk Capital Foundation in order to provide assistance to new entrepreneurs including, technologists and professionals. The Foundation, which started its operations in 1976, provides loans to such entrepreneurs free of interest or at nominal interest rate.

(viii) The Corporation sponsored the Management Development Institute which has been established to promote management education in the country.

(ix) The Corporation has also sponsored Technical Consultancy Organisation in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to meet the consultancy needs to new entrepreneurs and technologists.

(x) Recently, the Corporation has started four new promotional schemes:

(a) Interest subsidy schemes for women entrepreneurs;

(b) Consultancy fee subsidy schemes for providing marketing assistance to small-scale units;

(c) Encouraging the modernisation of tiny, small-scale and ancillary units;

(d) Controlling pollution in small and medium-scale units.

Criticism:

In spite of the notable progress made by IFCI over the years, its functioning has been criticised on the following grounds:

(i) The IFCI has adopted a discriminatory lending policy to the disadvantage of the small and medium- sized industrial units. Its assistance is particularly biased in favour of cotton textiles and sugar industry.

(ii) The IFCI has not helped much in removing regional inequalities. Less developed states are the least beneficiaries.

(iii) In many cases, the loans have been granted to those industrial units which could easily raise resources from the capital market.

(iv) The Corporation’s insistence on the personal guarantee of directors in addition to the mortgage of property shows that it gives more importance to the status of the directors rather than to the soundness of the project.

(v) The Corporation has failed to exercise control over the defaulting borrowers who have not utilised loans for the purposes for which they have been granted.

(vi) The Corporation has provided greater assistance to the consumer goods industries and only a meagre assistance to the basic and capital goods industries.

(vii) The Corporation has also been criticised on the charges of indulging in nepotism and favouritism while granting loans.

(viii) The Corporation has been charging very high interest rates.

2. State Finance Corporations (SFCs):

The Industrial Finance Corporation provides financial assistance to large public limited companies and cooperative societies and does not cover the small and medium-sized industries. In order to meet the varied financial needs of small and medium sized industries, the Government of India passed the State Finance Corporations Act in 1951, which empowers the state governments to establish such Corporations in their states. The first State Finance Corporation was set up in Punjab in 1953. At present, there are 18 SFCs operating in the country.

Functions:

Various functions of and types of financial assistance to be provided by the SFCs are given below:

(i) The SFCs have been established to provide long-term finance to small-scale and medium-sized industrial concerns organised as public or private companies, corporations, partnership or proprietary concerns.

(ii) The SFCs extend loans and advances to the industrial concerns repayable within a period of 20 years.

(iii) The SFCs guarantee loans raised by the industrial concerns in the market or from scheduled or cooperative banks and repayable within 20 years.

(iv) The SFCs subscribe to the debentures of the industrial concerns repayable within a period of 20 years.

(v) The SFCs guarantee loans raised by the industrial concerns from scheduled or cooperative banks and repayable within 20 years.

(vi) The SFCs underwrite the issue of stocks, shares, bonds and debentures by industrial concerns.

(vii) The SFCs guarantee the deferred payments for the purchase of plant, machinery, etc. within the country.

(viii) The SFCs are prohibited from subscribing directly to the shares or stock of any company having limited liability, except for under-writing purposes, and granting any loan or advance on the security of own shares.

(ix) The SFCs can act as agent of the Central or State governments or some industrial financing institution for sanctioning and disbursing loans to small industries.

Capital:

The capital resources of the SFCs include- (a) share capital and reserves, (b) bonds and debentures, (c) borrowing from the Reserve Bank, the state governments, (d) finance from Industrial Development Bank of India, and (e) deposits.

The share capital of a SFC is to be fixed by the concerned state government subject to the limits between Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 5 crore. The shares of the SFCs can be subscribed by the state governments, the Reserve Bank, commercial banks, cooperative banks, other financial institutions and the public.

The shares of the Corporation are to be regarded as trustee securities under the Indian Trusts Act, and as approved securities for purposes of the Banking Companies Act. The SFCs can also raise funds by issuing bonds and debentures.

Bonds and debentures issued by the Corporation are guaranteed by the respected state governments and mostly subscribed by the commercial banks and other financial institutions.

Financial Assistance:

At present, there are 18 SFCs in the country. In 2001-02, the loans sanctioned by the SFCs amounted to Rs. 2076 crore as against Rs. 13.3 crore in 1961-62 and Rs. 49.6 crore in 1970-71. Loans disbursed in 2001-02 were Rs. 1763 crore as against Rs. 9 crore in 1961-62 and Rs. 33.5 crore in 1970-71. Cumulative assistance sanctioned and disbursed upto March 1991 was Rs, 11944 crore and Rs. 8800 crore.

Features:

Important features of the working of SFCs are as given below:

(i) The SFCs were set up with the objective of providing financial assistance to small as well as medium industrial concerns. Though there has been a notable rise in the overall financial assistance, the performance of individual Corporations differed largely due to the attitudes and motivations of the local entrepreneurs in different states.

(ii) Prior to 1966, the SFCs showed preference for medium industries. But, now there has been a marked shift in their lending policies in favour of the small units. In 1985-86, the share of small units in the total loans sanctioned was 82 per cent.

(iii) Major beneficiaries of the financial assistance of the SFCs have been the food processing industries, services (mainly road transport), chemicals, textiles, metal products, machinery and transport equipment industries.

(iv) A special feature of the lending operations of SFCs has been the provision of finance to industrial concerns of backward areas. In 1985-86, the share of backward areas in the total assistance a sanctioned by the SFCs was 53 per cent.

(v) The SFCs provide concessional assistance to the industrial units located in backward areas in terms of soft loans at concessional rates, lower margins, reduced service charges, etc.

(vi) In order to encourage self-employment, the SFCs have formulated schemes of assistance to technician- entrepreneurs.

Criticism:

The actual performance of the SFCs has been criticised mainly because of the following defects and inadequacies:

(i) The financial resources of the SFCs are inadequate. Moreover, they face the difficulty of finding additional funds.

(ii) The SFCs have not been able to provide adequate financial assistance to meet the requirements of small and medium industries.

(iii) The SFCs charge very high interest rates on all the loans other than the soft loans. Moreover, the terms and conditions of assistance are also hard.

(iv) The SFCs also face the serious problem of increasing magnitude of overdues. The main reasons for overdues are: delays in the implementation of projects and industrial sickness.

(v) The SFCs provide finance against adequate security. But many industrial units, particularly the proprietary and partnership concerns find it difficult to offer adequate security for their loans mainly because of the defects in title to ownership and difficulties of evaluating the fixed assets.

(vi) The SFCs lack self-sufficient organisational set up along with adequate specialised and trained staff for ensuring their efficient functioning.

(vii) There is also a shortage of technical personnel for judging the soundness of the proposed schemes of the borrowing units.

(viii) Many difficulties are faced by the SFCs while extending financial assistance to the small industrial units.

3. Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI):

The Industrial Development Bank of India is the apex financial institution in the field of development banking in the country. It was established in July, 1964 with the twin objectives of- (a) meeting the growing financial needs of rapid industrialisation in the country, and (b) coordinating the activities and assisting the growth of all institutions engaged in financing industries.

It is an organisation with sufficiently large financial resources which not only provides direct financial assistance to the large and medium-large industrial units, but also helps the small and medium industries indirectly by extending refinancing and rediscounting facilities to other industrial financing institutions.

Thus, the primary aim of the IDBI has been to integrate the structure of industrial financing institutions and to fill the gap between demand and supply of term finance in the country. Initially, the IDBI was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, but, in 1976, it was taken over by the Government of India and was made an autonomous institution.

Functions:

Various functions of or types of assistance to be provided by the IDBI are as follows:

(i) Direct Financial Assistance:

The IDBI provides direct financial assistance to the industrial concerns in the form of- (a) granting loans and advances; and (b) subscribing to, purchasing or underwriting the issues of stocks, bonds or debentures.

(ii) Indirect Financial Assistance:

The IDBI provides indirect financial assistance to the small and medium industrial concerns through other financial institution, such as, State Finance Corporations, State Industrial Development Corporations, Cooperative banks, regional rural banks, commercial banks. The Assistance to these institutions include- (a) refinancing of loans given by the institutions; subscribing to their shares and bonds; (b) rediscounting of bills.

(iii) Development Assistance:

The creation of the Development Assistance Fund is the special feature of the IDBI. The Fund is used to provide assistance to those industries which are not able to obtain funds in the normal course mainly because of heavy investment involved or low expected rate of returns.

The financial resources of the Fund mainly come from contributions made by the government in the form of loans, gifts, donations, etc; and from other sources. Assistance from the Fund requires the prior approval by the government.

(iv) Promotional Function:

Besides providing financial assistance, the IDBI also undertakes various promotional activities such as marketing and investment research, techno- economic surveys. It provides technical and administrative advice for promotion, expansion and better management of the industrial concerns.

Capital:

Initially, the authorised capital of the IDBI was Rs.50 crore. Now it has been raised to Rs.500 crore; it can further be raised to the amount not exceeding Rs.2000 crore. The major sources of finance of the Bank are share capital, reserves, borrowings from the Reserve Bank and the government, and bonds and debentures. Funds are also raised through deposits from companies and through investments.

Financial Assistance:

The IDBI has been playing the leading role in providing direct loans to the industrial concerns; extending refinancing facilities for industrial and export credit; subscribing to and underwriting of the shares, bonds and debentures of the industrial concerns; and accepting, discounting and rediscounting the commercial bills of the industrial concerns.

Over the year, there has been a considerable increase in the financial assistance provided by the IDBI. It has sanctioned financial assistance worth Rs.73.3 crore in 1970- 71 and Rs. 16034 crore in 2001-02.

The amount actually disbursed was Rs. 58.8 crore in 1970-71 and Rs. 11158 crore in 2001-02. Cumulatively, at the end of March 1991, the IDBI has sanctioned financial assistance aggregating Rs. 48560 crore and disbursed Rs. 34656 crore.

Features:

Other features of the assistance extended by the IDBI are as given below:

(I) Direct Assistance:

The direct assistance to the industrial concerns over the years has accounted for about one third of the total assistance. In 1985-86, the IDBI sanctioned direct assistance of Rs.1120 crore which included project loans, soft loans, underwriting of and direct subscription to share, bonds and debentures of industrial concerns. Loans form the major portion of the IDBI’s direct assistance.

(II) Refinance of Loans:

The IDBI has been providing refinance facilities in three ways- (a) by refinancing term loans to industry and export trade; (b) by subscribing to the shares and bonds of the financial institutions; and (c) by rediscounting the bills of exchange.

The IDBI took over the business of the Refinance Corporation of India and started providing refinance facilities to the industrial concerns through member banks.

Cumulatively, the refinance of industrial loans sanctioned by IDBI aggregated to Rs. 7225 crore upto March 1986. Since 1967, the scheme for refinancing medium-term export loans has been adopted in order to encourage credit facilities to the export sector.

Since 1966, the IDBI is also operating a scheme of participation is risk sharing with other financial institutions in loans and guarantees as a measure to supplement the refinancing operations.

(III) Assistance to Small Scale Industries:

The IDBI has shown special interest in extending assistance to the small scale industries through its refinance schemes. In May 1986, the IDBI has set up a separate fund called Small Industries Development Fund (S1DF) to facilitate development, expansion, modernisation, diversification and rehabilitation of small industries.

The IDBI has also introduced the ‘Integrated Term loan’ facility for the new small projects. After the establishment of small Industries Development Board of India (SIDBI), the entire portfolio of IDBI relating to small and tiny sector has been transferred to SIDBI from April 1990.

(IV) Assistance to Backward Areas:

The IDBI has been providing financial as well as non-financial assistance to promote industries in the backward regions of the country. The financial assistance includes- (a) direct loans at concessional rates, longer initial grace period, etc.; (b) concessional refinance facilities to the industries in the backward areas; and (c) special concessions to the projects in the north-eastern regions under the bill rediscounting scheme.

The non-financial assistance is in the form of identification and formulation of variable projects, the provision of technical assistance etc. During 1990-91, IDBI provided 43% of its total assistance to backward areas.

(V) Soft Loan Scheme:

In 1976, the IDBI introduced the soft loan scheme for providing concessional finance to the selected industries. This facility is available to the cement, sugar, jute, cotton textiles and certain engineering industries for modernising, replacing and renovating their plants and equipment. The concessional rate of interest is 7.5 per cent and the period of loan is 12 to 15 years.

(VI) Scheme for No-Industry Districts:

The IDBI has introduced a special scheme for no-industry districts with a view to develop industries in these districts by providing financial, technical and administrative assistance and arranging training for potential entrepreneurs. The IDBI conducts surveys to study the industrial potential of no-industry districts.

(VII) Technical Consultancy Organisation:

The IDBI has also initiated the Technical Consultancy Organisation (TCO). The main objective of this Organisation is to organise feasibility studies, project appraisals, industrial and market potential surveys and training programmes for new entrepreneurs.

Restructuring of IDBI:

As a subsidiary institution to the Reserve Bank of India, the IDBI was not able to perform its functions as the apex development bank effectively. It was made the slave of procedures and, it could not operate freely and independently.

Thus, with a view to broaden its role as the apex financial institution and to achieve more effective coordination among all the financial institutions, and thus to adequately assist the process of industrialisation in the country, the IDBI was delinked from the Reserve Bank of India with effect from February 16, 1976 and made an autonomous corporation completely owned by the Government of India.

With this restructuring, the following changes occurred:

(i) A separate and independent board of directors has been set up for the IDBI.

(ii) The IDBI has acquired the shares holding of the Reserve Bank in the State Finance Corporation and has taken over its supervisory functions with respect to the SFCs.

(iii) The initial capital of Unit Trust of India and the powers relating to the appointment of the chairman, executive trustees and nomination of four trustees have been transferred from the Reserve Bank to the IDBI.

(iv) The IDBI has been given representation on the board and investment committee of the Life Insurance Corporation.

(v) The internal structure of the IDBI was also reorganised. Its main functions and objectives were entrusted to two separate wings- (a) the Domestic Finance Wing, and (b) International Finance Wing.

Criticism:

The IDBI, as the leading development bank, has made a significant contribution to accelerate the industrialisation process in the country .The amount, range and pattern of assistance provided by the IDBI has grown over the years. But, still there exist certain drawbacks because of which the IDBI has not been able to develop itself as a development bank in the true sense of the term.

The important drawbacks of the IDBI are given below:

(i) It had confined itself to providing direct loans to the industrial concerns and has treated the underwriting of the shares and debentures of industrial concerns as a less important activity. In this way, the IDBI has failed to develop the capital market in the country.

(ii) The IDBI has not been able to contribute much to promote balanced development of industrially backward areas in the country. During the period of 1970-83, 48.5 percent of the total assistance to backward areas has been cornered by the 5 industrially advanced states.

(iii) Similarly, in spite of repeated emphasis to assist the small scale sector, the larger portion of the assistance has been received by the big industrial concerns.

(iv) The IDBI has largely concentrated on providing financial assistance to the industries and has given less importance to promotional and consultancy functions.

(v) The IDBI’s lack of proper supervision of the SFCs has been largely responsible for the alarming increase in overdues.

4. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI):

The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India was registered as a private limited company in 1955. It was set up as a private sector development bank to assist and promote private industrial concerns in the country.

Broad objectives of the ICICI are:

(a) To assist in the creation, expansion and modernisation of private concerns;

(b) To encourage the participation of internal and external capital in the private concerns;

(c) To encourage private ownership of industrial investment.

Functions:

The ICICI performs the following functions:

(i) It provides long-term and medium-term loans in rupees and foreign currencies.

(ii) It participates in the equity capital of the industrial concerns.

(iii) It underwrites new issues of shares and debentures.

(iv) It guarantees loans raised by private concerns from other sources.

(v) It provides technical managerial and administrative assistance to industrial concerns.

Capital:

Initially, the Corporation started with the authorised capital of Rs. 25 crore. At the end of June 1986, the authorised capital was Rs. 100 crore and the paid-up capital was 49.5 crore. Various sources of financial resources of the Corporation are Indian banks, insurance companies and foreign institutions, including the World Bank, and the public. The government and the IDBI have also provided loans to the Corporation.

Financial Assistance:

The performance of the ICICI in the field of financial assistance provided to the industrial concerns has been quite satisfactory. Over the years, the assistance sanctioned by the Corporation has grown from Rs.14.8 crore in 1961-62 to Rs. 43.0 crore in 1970-71 and Rs. 36229 crore in 2001-02.

Similarly the amount disbursed has increased from Rs.8.6 crore in 1961-62 to Rs.29.8 crore in 1970-71 and to Rs. 25831 in 2001-02. Cumulatively, at the end of March 1996, the ICICI has sanctioned and disbursed financial assistance aggregating Rs. 66169 crore and Rs. 36591 crore respectively.

Features:

The important features of the functioning of the ICICI are as given below:

(i) The financial assistance as provided by the ICICI includes rupee loans, foreign currency loans, guarantees, underwriting of shares and debentures, and direct subscription to shares and debentures.

(ii) Originally, the ICICI was established to provide financial assistance to industrial concerns in the private sector. But, recently, its scope has been widened by including industrial concerns in the public, joint and cooperative sectors.

(iii) ICICI has been providing special attention to financing riskier and non-traditional industries, such as chemicals, petrochemicals, heavy engineering and metal products. These four categories of industries have accounted for more than half of the total assistance.

(iv) Of late, the ICICI has also been providing assistance to the small scale industries and the projects in backward areas.

(v) Along with other financial institutions, the ICICI has actively participated in conducting surveys to examine industrial potential in various states.

(vi) In 1977, the ICICI promoted the Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. to grant term loans for the construction and purchase of residential houses.

(vii) Since 1983, the ICICI has been providing leasing assistance for computerisation, modernisation and replacement schemes; for energy conservator; for export orientation; for pollution control; for balancing and expansion, etc.

(viii) The ICICI has not contributed much to reduce regional disparities. About three-fifth of the total assistance given by the ICICI has been received by the advanced states of Maharashtra, Gujrat and Tamil Nadu.

(ix) With effect from April 1, 1996, Shipping Credit and Investment Company of India ltd. (SCICI) was merged with ICICI.

(x) The ICICI Ltd. was merged with ICICI Bank Ltd. effective from May, 3, 2002.

5. Unit Trust of India (UTI):

The Unit Trust of India was established in 1964 as a public sector investment institution. The main objective of the UTI is to mobilise the savings of the small and medium income groups and channeling them into productive investment.

It thus, the on one hand, contributes to the industrial development and diversification of the economy, on and the other hand, provides the small savers the opportunity for sharing the benefits of industrial development by utilising their savings in profitable and less risky investments.

Functions:

The UTI achieves its objectives by performing the following functions:

(a) It sells its units to the investors in small and medium income groups,

(b) It invests the funds so collected through the sale of units in industrial and corporate securities,

(c) It distributes the annual gross income among the unit-holders in the form of dividends.

Capital:

There are two main sources of finance of the UTI- (a) the initial capital, and (b) unit capital. The initial capital of the Unit Trust was Rs. 5 crore; Rs. 2.5 crore were contributed by the Reserve Bank and the rest was subscribed by the State Bank of India (Rs. 75 lakh), the Life Insurance Corporation (Rs. 75 lakh), commercial banks and other institutions (Rs. 1 crore). Unit Capital is raised by the sale of units.

The overall management of the Unit Trust is under the control of the Board of Trustees, comprising a Chairman and nine other Trustees:

Progress:

Over the years, the UTI has achieved considerable progress in mobilising savings through the sale of units and investing its funds profitably. During the first year of its establishment, i.e., 1964, the sales of the units were of Rs. 19.1 crore. Today as on 31 March 2000 UTI has become a trust of over 4 crore unit holders and manages over Rs. 72487 crore.

Financial assistance sanctioned by the UTI, which was Rs. 2.1 crore in 1965- 66, increased to Rs. 9.2 crore in 1970-71 and further to Rs. 6844.9 crore in 1999-2000. Similarly, the assistance disbursed amounted to Rs. 1.7 crore in 1965-66, Rs. 5.1 crore in 1970-71 and Rs. 5162 crore in 1999-2000.

Features:

The salient features of the working of the UTI are as given below:

(i) The UTI sells the units issued by it in the denomination of Rs.10 or Rs.100 to the investing public.

(ii) It has formulated various Schemes to cater the specific investment needs of different types of investors. So far, UTI has introduced 66 schemes for mobilising savings. Its main scheme is unit Scheme 1964. It has also started specific saving plans linked with the unit schemes; they are: Reinvestment plan 1966, Children’s Gift Plan 1970 and Unit Linked Insurance Plan 1971.

(iii) The UTI, in association with Merrill Lynch has initiated the ‘India Fund’ in U.K. (1986) and ‘India Growth Fund’ in U.S.A. (1988) for providing opportunity for non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin residing abroad and other person’s resident outside India to invest in the securities market of India through the special unit scheme.

(iv) In 1986, the UTI also set up a ‘Mutual Fund’ under which ‘Master Shares’ have been offered for public subscription. The Mutual Fund provides an outlet for small investors for investing in shares quoted in the stock exchanges.

(v) The UTI has also introduced new scheme i.e., Housing Development Fund-Units Scheme.

(vi) The UTI has been paying dividend to the purchasers of the units at a progressively increasing rate.

(vii) The UTI has drawn up its investment policy on the principle of maximisation of earnings consistent with safety of capital. It has become the single largest investor in the Indian stock markets and is the provider of large amounts of resources to Indian Industry.

(viii) To encourage the small investors to purchase units, the Government of India has granted tax concessions.

(ix) Recently, UTI promoted a new venture, i.e., Unit Trust Management of Sri Lanka. Apart from U.T.I., Bank of Ceylone, Warleys and Carson Cumberbatch, Sri Lanka are also participating in this venture.

Associate Companies. In order to diversify its financial business and meet investors’ varying needs. UTI has set up a number of associate companies in the field of banking, securities trading, investor servicing, investment advice and training.

The companies and organisations in the UTI group are- (a) UTI Investment Advisory Services (1988); (b) UTI Institute of Capital Markets (1989); (c) UTI Investor Services Limited (1993) ; (d) UTI Securities Exchange Limited (1994); (e) UTI Bank Limited (1994); (f) UTI (International) Limited, located in London and Dubai.

Bail-Out Package for UTI:

In a major initiative to overcome its recent financial crisis and restore investor confidence in the beleaguered UTI, the central government announced a number of measures on August 31, 2002.

These measures are as follows:

(i) Repealing of the UTI Act through an Ordinance.

(ii) Bifurcation of the UTI, the largest mutual fund of the country, into UTI-I and UTI-II.

(iii) UTI-I will remain under the control of the government.

(iv) The control of UTI-II will be given to the professionals for the time-being.

(v) UTI-I will handle US-64 and 21 other assured return schemes and the government will continue to provide support to the fund subscribed by small investors, including pensioners and the salaried class.

(vi) UTI-II will handle all net-asset value schemes and the government will not provide any support to this fund. The fund will also be placed under SEBI scrutiny like other mutual funds.

(vii) Eventually, the UTI-II will be privatised.

6. Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India (IRBI)/ Industrial Investment Bank of India (IIBI):

Growing industrial sickness has been a serious problem of some major industries of the country, such as, textiles, engineering, mining, etc. In recent years, a number of industrial units have been experiencing sickness due to variety of reasons, such as, lack of demand for the products, shortage of raw materials, labour problems, financial difficulties, managerial inefficiency, etc. Closing down of industrial units is a great set-back for the economy; it reduces production and creates un-employment.

Industrial Reconstruction Corporation of India (IRCI):

Considering the seriousness of the problem of industrial sickness, the Government of India established the Industrial Reconstruction Corporation of India in April 1973. The main purpose of the IRCI was to prevent and cure the problem of industrial sickness. It was expected to provide assistance to the sick units for their rehabilitation and reconstruction. The IRCI was set up with an authorised capital of Rs. 25 crore, issued capital of Rs.10 crore and paid-up capital of Rs. 2.5 crore. The resources of the Corporation have been subscribed by Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI).

Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), State Bank of India (SBI) and the nationalised banks.

The Government of India has granted an interest- free loan of Rs. 10 crore to the Corporation, upto the end of March 1984, the IRCI has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs. 266 crore and disbursed Rs. 185 crore to 242 sick or closed industrial units.

Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India (IRBI):

By a special Act passed in March 1985, the Government converted the IRCI into the IRBI. The IRBI has been set up as a statutory corporation with the objective of functioning as the principal institution for providing financial assistance needed for rehabilitation of sick industrial concerns.

The authorised capital of the IRBI is Rs. 200 crore and paid-up capital as on March, 31, 1989 was Rs. 112.5 crore. During 1993-94 the IRBI sanctioned financial assistance of Rs. 425.8 crore of which Rs. 188.6 crore disbursed. At the end of June 1991, the cumulative financial assistance sanctioned and disbursed stood at Rs. 1244 and Rs. 919 crore respectively.

IRBI has been converted into a full-fledged development financial institution with a new name Industrial Investment Bank of India Ltd. (IIBI) with effect from March 27, 1997. During 2001-02, IIBI sanctioned financial assistance of Rs. 1321 crore and disbursed Rs. 1070 crore.

7. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India:

The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India is the principal financial institution in India for coordinating the working of institutions engaged in financing export and import trade. It is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the Government of India. It was established on January 1, 1982 for the purpose of financing, facilitating and promoting foreign trade of India.

Capital. The authorised capital of the EXIM Bank is Rs. 200 crore and paid up capital is Rs. 100 crore, wholly subscribed by the Central Government.

The bank can raise additional resources through:

(i) Loans/grants from Central Government and Reserve Bank of India;

(ii) Lines of credit from institutions abroad;

(iii) Funds raised from Euro Currency markets;

(iv) Bonds issued in India.

Functions:

The main functions of the EXIM Bank are as follows:

(i) Financing of exports and imports of goods and services, not only of India but also of the third world countries;

(ii) Financing of exports and imports of machinery and equipment on lease basis;

(iii) Financing of joint ventures in foreign countries;

(iv) Providing loans to Indian parties to enable them to contribute to the share capital of joint ventures in foreign countries;

(v) To undertake limited merchant banking functions such as underwriting of stocks, shares, bonds or debentures of Indian companies engaged in export or import; and

(vi) To provide technical, administrative and financial assistance to parties in connection with export and import.

Lending Operations:

The EXIM Bank undertakes its lending operations under the following three broad categories:

(i) Loans to commercial banks in India include:

(a) Export bills re-discounting scheme (short-term bills); and

(b) Refinance of export capital.

(ii) Loan to Indian companies include:

(a) Direct financial assistance to exporters;

(b) Technology and consultancy services;

(c) Overseas investment financing for equity participation by an Indian company in the joint ventures abroad; and

(d) Pre-shipment credit in case of export contract for capital goods.

(iii) Loans to foreign governments, companies and financial institutions include:

(a) Overseas buyer’s credit scheme;

(b) Lines of credit to foreign governments; and

(c) Relending facility to banks overseas.

Recent Developments:

In order to promote exports, the EXIM Bank has developed the following schemes in recent years:

(i) Production Equipment Finance Programme:

This offers rupee term finance to eligible export-oriented units for acquisition of equipment.

(ii) Export Marketing Finance:

This helps Indian manufacturing companies to undertake strategic export marketing activities based on long-term and structured export plans with advanced country markets.

(iii) Export Vendor Development Finance:

This provides integrated financing packages to manufacturer- exporters and export/trading houses to prepare and implement strategic vendor development plans.

Assistance:

The total financial assistance provided by the EXIM Bank and outstanding at the end of March 1991 was about Rs. 2000 crore. During 1992-93, the bank sanctioned loans of Rs. 1590 crore registering an increase of 40% over the previous year.

Disbursement stood at Rs. 1296 crore, an increase of 17% over the previous year. During 2001-02, Exim Bank sanctioned loans of Rs. 4241 crore, while disbursed Rs. 3453 crore.

8. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI):

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was established as wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) under the small Industries Development of India Act 1989. It is the principal institution for promotion, financing and development of industries in the small scale sector.

It also coordinates the functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. For this purpose, SIDBI has taken over the responsibility of administrating Small Industries Development Fund and National Equity Fund from IDBI.

Capital:

SIDBI started its operations from April 1990 with an initial authorised capital of Rs. 250 crore, which could be increased to Rs. 1000 crore. It also took over the outstanding portfolio of IDBI relating to small scale sector held under Small Industries Development Fund as on March 31, 1990 worth over Rs. 4000 crore.

Objectives:

In the setting up of SIDBI, the main purpose of the government was to ensure larger flow of assistance to the small scale units.

To meet this objective, the immediate thrust of the SIDBI was on the following measures:

(i) Initiating steps for technological upgradation and modernisation of existing units;

(ii) Expanding the channels for marketing the products of the small scale sector; and

(iii) Promotion of employment-oriented industries, especially in semi- urban areas to create more employment opportunities and thereby checking migration of population to urban areas.

Functions:

SIDBI provides assistance to the small scale industries sector in the country through the existing banking and other financial institutions, such as, State Financial Corporations, State Industrial Development Corporations, commercial banks, cooperative banks and RRBs. etc.

The major functions of SIDBI are given below:

(i) It refinances loans and advances provided by the existing lending institutions to the small scale units.

(ii) It discounts and rediscounts bills arising from sale of machinery to and manufactured by small scale industrial units.

(iii) It extends seed capital/soft loan assistance under National Equity Fund, Mahila Udyam Nidhi and Mahila Vikas Nidhi and seed capital schemes.

(iv) It grants direct assistance and refinance loans extended by primary lending institutions for financing exports of products manufactured by small scale units.

(v) It provides services like factoring, leasing, etc. to small units.

(vi) It extends financial support to State Small Industries Corporations for providing scarce raw materials to and marketing the products of the small scale units.

(vii) It provides financial support to National Small Industries Corporation for providing, leasing, hire-purchase and marketing help to the small scale units.

During 1990-91, SIDBI sanctioned financial assistance worth Rs. 2409 crore, which increased to Rs. 4785.7 crore in 2001-02. Similarly, the assistance disbursed increased from Rs. 1839 crore in 1990-91 to Rs. 3369.2 crore in 2001-02.

9. National Housing Bank (NHB):

In consonance with the national housing policy which aimed at the development of a viable and accessible institutional framework for providing housing finance, National Housing Bank (NHB) was set up on July 9, 1988. NHB is an apex institution for housing finance. Its entire initial share capital of Rs. 100 crore was subscribed by the RBI. As on 30 June 1999, the paid up capital of NHB stood at Rs. 350 crore.

A major activity of National Housing Bank (NHB) includes extending financial assistance to various eligible institutions in the housing sector by way of- (a) refinance (b) direct finance.

(a) Refinance:

NHB extends refinance assistance to the various eligible primary lending institutions, such as, scheduled banks, housing finance companies (HFCs) and cooperative sector institutions. Refinance assistance is extended to these institutions in respect of housing loans provided by them to the individuals as well as public and private agencies for the purpose of land development and shelter projects.

The cumulative refinance assistance provided by NHB to the primary lending institutions stood at 4961.48 crore upto end March 2000.

(b) Direct Finance:

NHB provides direct finance for integrated land development and shelter projects of public agencies in respect of Land Development and Shelter Projects (LDSPs), Slum Redevelopment Projects (SRPs) and Housing Infrastructure Projects (HIPs). An amount of Rs. 61.86 crore has been disbursed so far (End March 2000) under the direct financing window.

As per the Voluntary Deposit (Immunities and Exemptions) Act 1991, a special fund has been created in NHB for financing slum redevelopment programme. Recognising the needs of the Non-resident Indians for housing, the Government of India has formulated a scheme for the NRI investment in housing and real estate within the overall liberalised framework. The scheme seeks to promote NRI investment in a large number of ventures relating to housing and real estate development.

These include development of serviced plots, construction of built-up residential and commercial premises development of townships, urban infrastructure manufacturing of building material, and participation in housing finance companies. As a part of this scheme, a nodal cell has been set up in NHB for coordination decisions on policy and procedures relating to the scheme.

In its efforts to increase the flow of funds particularly in rural areas and its easy accessibility to the needy rural population, the NHB till the end of April 1996 has subscribed to the Special Rural Housing Debentures (SRHDs) of state level cooperative Land Development Banks (LDBs) to the tune of Rs. 180.91 crore.

Recognising the importance of providing housing finance to women, particularly those belonging to the vulnerable sections, NHB have announced a Direct Financing Scheme for Housing for Women. Under this scheme, NHB will directly finance the projects of public agencies and local bodies for the benefit of women belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) and low income group (LIG) categories.

10. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India:

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was established in 1956 to spread the massage of life insurance in the country and to mobilise people’s savings for nation-building activities.

Main features of LIC are given below:

I. Saving Institution:

Life insurance both promotes and mobilises saving in the country. The income tax concession provides further incentive to higher income persons to save through LIC policies.

The total volume of insurance business has also been growing with the spread of insurance-consciousness in the country. The total new business of LIC during 1995-96 was Rs. 51815 crore sum assured under 10.20 lakh policies.

The LIC business can grow at still faster speed if the following improvements are made:

(i) The organisational and operational efficiency of the LIC should be increased.

(ii) New types of insurance covers should be introduced.

(iii) The services of LIC should be extended to smaller places.

(iv) The message of life insurance should be made more popular.

(v) The general price level should be kept stable so that the insuring public does not get cheated of a large amount of the real value of its long-term saying through inflation.

II. Term Financing Institution:

LIC also functions as a large term financing institution (or a capital market) in the country. The annual net accrual of investible funds from life insurance business (after making all kinds of payments liabilities to the policy holders) and net income from its vast investment are quite large.

During 1994-95, LIC’s total income was Rs. 18,102.92 crore, consisting of premium income of Rs. 1152.80 crore investment income of Rs. 6336.19 crore, and miscellaneous income of Rs. 238.33 crore.

III. Investment Institutions:

LIC is a big investor of funds in government securities. Under the law, LIC is required to invest at least 50% of its accruals in the form of premium income in government and other approved securities.

LIC funds are also made available directly to the private sector through investment in shares, debentures, and loans. LIC also plays a significant role in developing the business of underwriting of new issues.

IV. Stabiliser in Share Market:

LIC acts as a downward stabiliser in the share market. The continuous inflow of new funds enables LIC to buy shares when the market is weak. But, the LIC does not usually sell shares when the market is overshot. This is partly due to the continuous pressure for investing new funds and partly due to the disincentive of the capital gains tax.

V. Progress of LIC:

Since its establishment, the LIC has made a notable progress. With the central office in Mumbai and seven zonal offices at Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Bhopal, the LIC operates through 100 divisional offices in important cities and 2021 branch offices from 1363 centers.

LIC has 5.49 lakh active agents spread over the country. The corporation also transacts business abroad and has offices in Fiji, Mauritius and United Kingdom. The total new business of the corporation during 1999-2000 was Rs. 186600 crore under 218.47 lakh polices.

The loans sanctioned by LIC have increased from Rs. 70 crore in 1980-81 to Rs. 1515 crore in 1991-92 and to Rs. 6742 crore in 2001-02. Similarly, the loans disbursed by LIC have increased from Rs. 66 crore in 1980-81 to Rs. 1022 crore in 1991-92 and to Rs. 8915 crore in 2001-02.

11. General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India:

General Insurance companies sell insurance against specific risks, such as of loss from fire and accident, to property of various kinds, such as motor vehicles, goods, machinery, buildings, etc., and also against risk of personal accidents and Sickness. The policies of these companies do not involve saving feature.

The purchaser of general insurance simply buys a service and not any financial asset. In this way, general insurance companies cannot be considered as financial intermediaries in the true sense. However, they do accumulate large amounts of funds from premiums and investment income and thus manage portfolios of assets like other financial initiations.

The general insurance industry in India was nationalised and a government company known as General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India was formed in November 1972.

With effect from January 1, 1973, the erstwhile 107 Indian and foreign companies which were operating in the country prior to nationalisation, were regrouped into four subsidiaries of GIC, namely- (a) National Insurance Company Limited, (b) New India Insurance Company Limited, (c) Oriental Insurance Company Limited, and (d) United India Insurance Company Limited.

All these four subsidiaries of GIC operate all over the country competing with one another and undertake various types of general insurance business.

After nationalisation, the GIC and its subsidiaries have made great progress. They have also become important sources of funds to both the government and the private sector. By law, they are required to invest at least 35% of their invertible funds in government and other approved securities, with a minimum of 25% in central government securities.

During 1998-99, the net premium income of the general insurance industry was Rs. 7732 crore and the net profits were Rs. 1077 crore. Loans sanctioned by GIC increased from Rs. 30.8 crore in 1980-81 to Rs. 2983 crore in 2001-02. Similarly, the loans disbursed increased from Rs. 44.0 crore in 1980-81 to Rs. 2809 crore in 2001-02.

As on 31st March 1999, the general insurance network consisted of 4166 offices as compared to 799 offices in 1973. Besides the domestic market, the industry is presently operating in 17 countries directly through branches or agencies and in 14 countries through subsidiaries and associate companies.

The wholy-owned subsidiary of GIC known as ‘India International Insurance Private Limited’ set up in 1988 in Singapore has grown into a leading company in the Singapore market.