Business Portal of India : Business Financing : Financial Institutions

Financial sector plays an indispensable role in the overall development of a country. The most important constituent of this sector is the financial institutions, which act as a conduit for the transfer of resources from net savers to net borrowers, that is, from those who spend less than their earnings to those who spend more than their earnings. The financial institutions have traditionally been the major source of long-term funds for the economy. These institutions provide a variety of financial products and services to fulfil the varied needs of the commercial sector. Besides, they provide assistance to new enterprises, small and medium firms as well as to the industries established in backward areas. Thus, they have helped in reducing regional disparities by inducing widespread industrial development.

The Government of India, in order to provide adequate supply of credit to various sectors of the economy, has evolved a well developed structure of financial institutions in the country. These financial institutions can be broadly categorised into All India institutions and State level institutions, depending upon the geographical coverage of their operations. At the national level, they provide long and medium term loans at reasonable rates of interest. They subscribe to the debenture issues of companies, underwrite public issue of shares, guarantee loans and deferred payments, etc. Though, the State level institutions are mainly concerned with the development of medium and small scale enterprises, but they provide the same type of financial assistance as the national level institutions.

National Level Institutions

A wide variety of financial institutions have been set up at the national level. They cater to the diverse financial requirements of the entrepreneurs. They include all India development banks like IDBI, SIDBI, IFCI Ltd, IIBI; specialised financial institutions like IVCF, ICICI Venture Funds Ltd, TFCI ; investment institutions like LIC, GIC, UTI; etc.

All-India Development Banks (AIDBs):- Includes those development banks which provide institutional credit to not only large and medium enterprises but also help in promotion and development of small scale industrial units.

Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI):- was established in July 1964 as an apex financial institution for industrial development in the country. It caters to the diversified needs of medium and large scale industries in the form of financial assistance, both direct and indirect. Direct assistance is provided by way of project loans, underwriting of and direct subscription to industrial securities, soft loans, technical refund loans, etc. While, indirect assistance is in the form of refinance facilities to industrial concerns.

Industrial Finance Corporation of India Ltd (IFCI Ltd):- was the first development finance institution set up in 1948 under the IFCI Act in order to pioneer long-term institutional credit to medium and large industries. It aims to provide financial assistance to industry by way of rupee and foreign currency loans, underwrites/subscribes the issue of stocks, shares, bonds and debentures of industrial concerns, etc. It has also diversified its activities in the field of merchant banking, syndication of loans, formulation of rehabilitation programmes, assignments relating to amalgamations and mergers, etc.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI):- was set up by the Government of India in April 1990, as a wholly owned subsidiary of IDBI. It is the principal financial institution for promotion, financing and development of small scale industries in the economy. It aims to empower the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector with a view to contributing to the process of economic growth, employment generation and balanced regional development.

Industrial Investment Bank of India Ltd (IIBI):- was set up in 1985 under the Industrial reconstruction Bank of India Act, 1984, as the principal credit and reconstruction agency for sick industrial units. It was converted into IIBI on March 17, 1997, as a full-fledged development financial institution. It assists industry mainly in medium and large sector through wide ranging products and services. Besides project finance, IIBI also provides short duration non-project asset-backed financing in the form of underwriting/direct subscription, deferred payment guarantees and working capital/other short-term loans to companies to meet their fund requirements.

Specialised Financial Institutions (SFIs):- are the institutions which have been set up to serve the increasing financial needs of commerce and trade in the area of venture capital, credit rating and leasing, etc.

IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd (IVCF):- formerly known as Risk Capital & Technology Finance Corporation Ltd (RCTC), is a subsidiary of IFCI Ltd. It was promoted with the objective of broadening entrepreneurial base in the country by facilitating funding to ventures involving innovative product/process/technology. Initially, it started providing financial assistance by way of soft loans to promoters under its 'Risk Capital Scheme' . Since 1988, it also started providing finance under 'Technology Finance and Development Scheme' to projects for commercialization of indigenous technology for new processes, products, market or services. Over the years, it has acquired great deal of experience in investing in technology-oriented projects.

ICICI Venture Funds Ltd:- formerly known as Technology Development & Information Company of India Limited (TDICI), was founded in 1988 as a joint venture with the Unit Trust of India. Subsequently, it became a fully owned subsidiary of ICICI. It is a technology venture finance company, set up to sanction project finance for new technology ventures. The industrial units assisted by it are in the fields of computer, chemicals/polymers, drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, biotechnology, environmental engineering, etc.

Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd. (TFCI):- is a specialised financial institution set up by the Government of India for promotion and growth of tourist industry in the country. Apart from conventional tourism projects, it provides financial assistance for non-conventional tourism projects like amusement parks, ropeways, car rental services, ferries for inland water transport, etc.

Investment Institutions:- are the most popular form of financial intermediaries, which particularly catering to the needs of small savers and investors. They deploy their assets largely in marketable securities.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC):- was established in 1956 as a wholly-owned corporation of the Government of India. It was formed by the Life Insurance Corporation Act,1956 , with the objective of spreading life insurance much more widely and in particular to the rural area. It also extends assistance for development of infrastructure facilities like housing, rural electrification, water supply, sewerage, etc. In addition, it extends resource support to other financial institutions through subscription to their shares and bonds, etc. The Life Insurance Corporation of India also transacts business abroad and has offices in Fiji, Mauritius and United Kingdom . Besides the branch operations, the Corporation has established overseas subsidiaries jointly with reputed local partners in Bahrain, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Unit Trust of India (UTI):- was set up as a body corporate under the UTI Act, 1963, with a view to encourage savings and investment. It mobilises savings of small investors through sale of units and channelises them into corporate investments mainly by way of secondary capital market operations. Thus, its primary objective is to stimulate and pool the savings of the middle and low income groups and enable them to share the benefits of the rapidly growing industrialisation in the country. In December 2002, the UTI Act, 1963 was repealed with the passage of Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Act, 2002, paving the way for the bifurcation of UTI into 2 entities, UTI-I and UTI-II with effect from 1st February 2003.

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) :- was formed in pursuance of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972(GIBNA ), for the purpose of superintending, controlling and carrying on the business of general insurance or non-life insurance. Initially, GIC had four subsidiary branches, namely, National Insurance Company Ltd , The New India Assurance Company Ltd , The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and United India Insurance Company Ltd . But these branches were delinked from GIC in 2000 to form an association known as 'GIPSA' (General Insurance Public Sector Association).

State Level Institutions

Several financial institutions have been set up at the State level which supplement the financial assistance provided by the all india institutions. They act as a catalyst for promotion of investment and industrial development in the respective States. They broadly consist of 'State financial corporations' and 'State industrial development corporations'.