Acts

 Post Office Act, 1854 – Dalhousie, 1st postal stamp

 Govt. Savings Bank Act 1873 - Post Office Savings Bank was
established
 Viceroy Ripon’s Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 – Dealt with
issues of forgery in Cheques
 RBI Act, 1934 – 1st Governor ‘Osborne Smith’ under Viceroy
Willingdon, Section 7(1) of the RBI Act empowers the Government
to consult with RBI Governor in Public Interest, If RBI Governor
doesn’t positively respond in such Section-7(1) consultation, then
Section 7(2) empowers the Government to issue binding orders to
RBI Central Board to implement its wishes.
 RBI (Transfer of Ownership) Act, 1948
 Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 – led to creation of ESIC
(Employees' State Insurance Corporation) in 1952 under Labour
Ministry.
 Banking Regulation Act, 1949
 Nationalization of Imperial Bank, 1955 (into SBI)
 Nationalization of Life Insurance Companies, 1956 - (LIC formed)
 DICGC Act, 1961 (Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee
Corporation Act) - mandates that all types of banks must buy
 insurance on their deposit accounts from DICGC (DICGC is owned
by RBI, RBI Dy. Governor acts as chairman of DICGC. HQ:
Mumbai). When a bank shuts down, DICGC will pay up to ₹ 5 lakh
insurance to every deposit holder for his principal and interest.
DICGC doesn’t cover NBFCs.
 1st Wave of Bank Nationalization, 1969
 GIC Act, 1972 - General Insurance Companies were nationalized
 2nd Wave of Bank Nationalization, 1980
 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - requires all motor vehicle owners to
purchase 3-rd Party Insurance.
 Depositories Act, 1996 – Regulates Depository Partners like CDSL,
NSDL which help in opening DEMAT Accounts.
 SARFAESI ACT, 2002
 PMLA (Prevention of Money-laundering Act), 2002
 Competition Act, 2002 – provides for Competition Corporation of
India under Ministry of Corporate Affairs, prevention of
monopoly.
 Payment & Settlement System Act, 2007 - empowers RBI to
regulate card payment, e-payment related products and services,
give license to Payment System Operators (PSOs).
 Companies Act, 2013
 Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 – Appeal in NCLT (National
Company Law Tribunal), NCALT.
 RERA Act, 2016 (Real Estate Regulation Act) – mandates builders
to buy ‘Title Insurance’ protects the new buyer in case of ‘title-
related’ legal disputes.
 Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017 - RBI not
required to exchange Demonetized Notes
 Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 - targets economic
offenders accused of scams worth ₹ 100 crores /> & left India to
avoid facing arrest. Special courts under PMLA, 2002 declare the
offender as “Fugitive Economic Offender” and attach his/her
properties. No ordinary civil court / tribunal can give stay order.
 Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020 – deals with
simplifying the Regulatory Bodies of Cooperative Banks.
 IBC (Amendment) Bill, 2021 – aims to provide PIRP (Pre-Packaged
Insolvency Resolution Process) for MSMe Enterprises only.
Borrower company informally (discreetly) negotiates a resolution
plan with its lenders / buyer-parties, before approaching IBC/NCLT
process. Quick and confidential way of completing the insolvency
resolution process. Time Limit of 120 days.
 Securities Market Code (Budget 2021 Announcement) - creating a
single new law, by merging older ones - SEBI Act of 1992,
 Depositories Act of 1996, Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act
(SCRA of 1956), and Government Securities Act of 2007.

Appointments
 RBI Governor & Dy. Governor- selected by FSRASC (Financial
Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee) headed by
Cabinet Secretary. Successful names, then, sent to Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet headed by the PM for final approval.
 SEBI Chairman - selected by FSRASC.
 Top Officials for PSBs, Public Sector Insurance Companies,
NABARD, SIDBI – selected by FSIB since 2022, earlier by BBB.
Appointment by Finance Ministry’s Department of Financial
Services.

Apps/ Portals
 MANI App (Mobile Aided Note Identifier App) – by RBI – to help
visually-impaired individuals in identifying notes.
 MyFASTag App, FASTag Partner App – by NHAI in 2017 - to
facilitate Electronic Toll Collection. NPCI has developed NETC
technology (National Electronic Toll Collection) to aid this.
 udyamimitra.in – by SIDBI for loans to small entrepreneurs via
schemes like Mudra.
 Information Utility Database – managed by IBBI (Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board of India), contains information about
borrowers. By looking at borrowers’ credit history, lenders can
make informed decisions. It helps in establishing documentary
proofs during NCLT / DRT proceedings.
 LEI Number (Legal Entity Identifier) - a global ‘Aadhaar card’
number for companies (20 digit Alphanumeric Code), they must
be forced to quote that number during every financial transaction.
Financial Stability Board of G20 came up with this.
 TReDS Platform – online platform which connects the Factors
(Banks/NBFC) with the Borrowers (MSME). Borrowers (MSMEs)
pledge their ‘unpaid invoices’ (from Big Businesses) as collaterals
to take loans from Factors (Banks/NBFCs). RXIL is a TReDS
Platform owned by SIDBI, NSE, ICICI etc.
 BOLT – Bombay Stock Exchange’s e-Platform for trading.
 NEAT – NSE’s e-Platform for Trading. (these platforms
communicate via VSAT Satellites)
 ISIN Number – Unique 12 digit alphanumeric code issued to
identify the securities (uniquely identify a company).
 SENSEX (SENSitive IndEX) - weighted average of Free Float Market
Capitalization (FFMC) of 30 companies, selected by BSE.
  SCORES (online portal for complaint), SMARTs (program for
investor education), Saarthi App (for investor awareness) – SEBI
Platforms.
 NDS (Negotiated Dealing System) for trading G-Secs – owned and
regulated by RBI, maintained by CCI (Clearing Corporation of
India). This system records the transactions of G-Sec buy-sell. It
has a component, NDS-OM (NDS-Order Matching system), which
is an electronic, computer-screen based, anonymous, order driven
trading system for dealing in G-sec's secondary market.
 SPICe Platform (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Companies)
- Online platform managed by Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
meant for registration of new company.
 MCA-21 Platform - Online platform managed by Ministry of
Corporate Affairs, where companies can file online documents
related to Companies Act compliance.
 DARPAN PLI (Postal Life Insurance) App – Clear from name.

Commissions/Committees/Panels
 Hilton Young Commission (1926) - recommended setting up a
central bank named 'Reserve Bank of India'.
 M.Narasimham’s Committee on Financial Inclusion (1970s) –
recommended setting up Regional Rural Banks (established in
1976).
 M. Narsimham Committee I (1991) – suggested deregulation,
independence to banks over loan interest rates (with RBI only
providing the methodology), RBI should ↓ CRR & SLR, Govt.
should allow entry of New Private Banks and New Foreign Banks.
Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) were set up in 1993. [BANKING
REFORMS]
 Malhotra Committee (Early 1990s) – recommended Insurance
Cos. Reforms, and setting up IRDAI.
 M. Narsimham Committee II (1997) – recommended dissolution
of DFIs (Development Finance Institutions) into Banks or NBFCs.
Observed that DRTs need to be strengthened with a law,
SARFAESI Act was implemented in 2002. [BANKING REFORMS]
 Y. H. Malegam Committee (2010) - RBI created a new NBFC
category called Micro Finance Institution (MFI) to give small loans
to poor without collateral.
 Justice B.N. Srikrishna Financial Sector Legislative Reform
Commission (2011-13) - recommended a new org to replace
DICGC, called Resolution Corporation (RC). Financial Resolution
 and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill introduced in 2017, due to
opposition, withdrawn in 2018.
 Urjit Patel Committee on Monetary Policy (2013) – proposed SDF
(Standing Deposit Facility), a Quantitative Monetary Policy Tool –
‘reverse repo borrowing of RBI, where RBI doesn’t give any
collateral to the client’. SDF was launched by RBI in 2022 in order
to reduce the cash flow in the economy. SDF Rate is also called
Floor of Policy Corridor/ LAF Corridor.
This committee also suggested that RBI adopt Flexible Inflation
Targeting (FIT) Monetary Policy, where RBI’s primary function is to
keep inflation controlled. This recommendation was adopted in
2016 by amending RBI Act, 1934.
 Nachiket Mor Committee (2013-14) – recommended setting up
Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks.
 PJ Nayak Committee (2014) – Recommended setting up BBB
(Bank Board Bureau) [BANKING REFORMS]
 Gyan-Sangam-I, 2015 – Finance Ministry’s Dept. of Financial
Services organized a workshop PSBs’ - CMD post bifurcated into
Chairman & separate MD. Indradhanush Plan for Bank
Recapitalization. Finance Ministry setting up an autonomous
body- Bank Board Bureau (BBB). [ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN
BANKING SECTOR]
 Alternative Mechanism Panel (2017) - under the Finance
Minister’s chairmanship – to examine the proposals for
merger/consolidation of the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and
forward to Cabinet for approval.
 Project Sashakt (2018) – by Finance Ministry, gave guidelines to
resolve Public Sector Banks’ NPA problem in a time-bound
manner.
 Bimal Jalan panel (2018) – set up by RBI, to decide the principles
for dividend transfer from RBI to Govt. It updated norms in such
manner that RBI will be able to transfer more dividends to the
Government.
 Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla Committee (2019) – Commerce Ministry -
suggested ‘Elephant Bonds’ (Long Term Debt Instrument) to
improve India’s share in global trade. People declaring Black
Money will be required to invest some portion of this Black
Money into Elephant Bonds, this money will be used only for
infrastructure projects. Recommendations not yet accepted.
 Dy. Gov Viral Acharya Committee (2019) - RBI board approved 3
year medium term framework to improve RBI supervision, based
on global best practices – Utkarsh2022 Roadmap & Daksh Web-
system 2022.
  UK Sinha Committee (2019)- set up by RBI - on MSME loan
reforms, suggested some more reforms in the PSL (Priority Sector
Lending).
 Nandan Nilekani Committee (2019) – set up by RBI – to promote
less-cash economy.
 Ishaat Hussain Panel & Harsh Bhanwala Panel (2019) – by SEBI, to
study the feasibility of Social Stock Exchange.
 KV Kamath Committee – set up by RBI - how to restructure loans
impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic. RBI gave Resolution
Frameworks based on the recommendations (a set of guidelines
for Banks/NBFCs dealing with bad loans).

Funds
 SEDF (Small Enterprises Development Fund) – by SIDBI.
 PIDF (2020) Payments Infrastructure Development Fund, by RBI
and Banks - funding to encourage small town merchants to adopt
Point-of-Sale (PoS) Card Swiping Machines.
 RIDF (1995) (Rural Infrastructure Development Fund), under
NABARD – Banks who are unable to achieve PSL (Priority Sector
Lending) Norms, invest money here. Fund used for agriculture,
social sector and rural connectivity projects.
 UIDF (2023) (Urban Infrastructure Development Fund), under
NHB - Banks who are unable to achieve PSL (Priority Sector
Lending) Norms, invest money here. Fund used for urban infra
projects in Tier2 & Tier3 cities.
 CSF (Consolidated Sinking Fund) - is a reserve fund of States, set
aside by RBI, to repay debts. This reserve fund gives the state
governments the buffer to service their drawbacks. Provision for
this fund - Article 266 (1) of Constitution. Monitored by CAG. Not
related to Consolidated Fund of the States (CFS).
 Women’s Livelihood Bonds (2019) – issued by SIDBI - type of
Social Impact Bond, offered to High Net-worth Individuals. Money
will be distributed by SIDBI to MFIs (Micro Finance Institutes),
who will provide loans to individual women.
 Skill Impact Bonds (2021) – issued by NSDC (National Skill
Development Corporation) – type of Social Impact Bond, for
skilling 50k Indian Youths.
 Investor Protection Fund - SEBI requires Stock Exchanges and
Commodity Exchanges to set up this fund. It covers investors’
‘non-speculative’ losses. IPF also promotes investor education and
awareness.
 CPSE- ETF (2014) (Central Public Sector Enterprises - Exchange
Traded Funds) – A mechanism to raise capital for CPSEs via
 market. Govt. gave CPSE-shares to a fund manager (Goldman
Sachs), who created new securities out of it, called ETF, and made
a ‘New Fund Offer’ (NFO) to the public to subscribe to these
securities. If an investor holds the ETF, he will get returns from the
dividend generated by those CPSEs. ETFs can be sold to a 3rd party
in Secondary Market as well.
 Bharat Bond ETF (2019) – Same concept. Relatively cheaper, so
middle-class families can invest as well. Proven to be a success in
generating profits for Investors, deepening of Financial Market &
raising capital for CPSEs. (Different from Mutual Funds in the way
that ETF Fund Managers don’t change their ‘portfolio’ based on
market trends, their ‘portfolio’ is fixed as they invest in CPSEs and
Public Sector Banks only).

General Information
 Government issues coins under Coinage Act, 2011
 RBI issues notes under RBI Act, 1934
 New Rupee Symbol – Competition by Dept. of Economic Affairs –
Designed by D. Udaya Kumar
 Languages on Currency Notes – 17 (2 on Observe, 15 on Reverse)
 Museum on Numismatics and Trade – in Old Mint Building,
Kolkata
 E-Kuber is CBS (Core Banking Solution) of RBI
 NFS (National Financial Switch) of NPCI – technology on which
ATMs run.
 AEPS (Aadhaar Enabled Payment System) of NPCI – Used for DBT
(Direct Benefit Transfer) and BankMitra-MicroATM System.
 EMV Cards (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) – safer alternative to
Magnetic Cards
 MEITy (Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology) – gives
subsidies on MDR to merchant’s bank (Merchant Discount Rate is
payed by the merchant to banks for every transaction they
receive via credit/debit cards).
 DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) – forms the basis of Crypto-
currencies.
 Philip Curve: Inflation ↑ = unemployment ↓ (and vice versa)
 CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) – mandated under RBI Act, 1934. Has no
legal upper/lower limit.
 SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ration) – mandated under Banking
Regulation Act, 1949. Has a legal upper limit of 40%.
 RBI primarily relies on REPO Rate (its Policy Rate) to combat
inflation, and not CRR/SLR (though they too affect inflation).
 SDLs (State Development Loans) are ‘G-securities’ of State
Governments i.e. Long-Term Debt Instruments of States.
 Bond yield is inversely related to the current selling price of the
bond in the secondary market.
 ‘Clawback’ Provision (2019) - RBI ordered the banks that salaries
of their CEO & Top Execs (if they did any scam) will be clawed
back (even after retirement).
 PSL (Priority Sector Lending) Norms do not apply to NBFCs, apply
ONLY to Banks.
 Stagflation - persistent high inflation, high unemployment and low
growth.
 Quantitative Easing – making loans cheaper in USA, leads to more
investment from USA to India
 Fed Tapering – making loans expensive in USA – withdrawal of
USA’s money from Indian market. USA people get better returns
in USA. Leads to weakening of Rupee & imported inflation in
India.
 Cantillon Effect - When the money supply is increased, the
purchasing power of people who first receive the freshly-created
money is increased at the cost of the rest of people. In simpler
terms – if loans become cheaper, rich people are most likely to
get lion-share of these loans.
 Commercial Banks can’t invest in Share Market directly.
 Article 371-F of Constitution gives special status to Sikkim; as a
result their State Bank of Sikkim is outside RBI’s regulation.
 Airtel Payments Bank, Paytm Payment Bank categorised as a
scheduled bank in 2021-22. Still can’t give loans as they are
Payment Banks.
 Example of Bank Privatization – UTI Bank privatized to form Axis
Bank.
 Example of PSB Merger (Consolidation) – Dena Bank & Vijaya
Bank into Bank of Baroda.
 Foreigners can invest max. 20% in Public Sector Bank’s
shareholding & max. 49% in Private Sector Bank’s shareholding
(max 74% with Govt. approval).
 NBFCs are registered under Companies Act, 2013. They can’t issue
Cheque books, credit/debit cards.
 CIC (Credit Information Company) – provide credit rating to
individuals, regulated by RBI, eg – CIBIL
 CRA (Credit Rating Agencies) – provide credit rating to Companies,
Govt., regulated by SEBI, eg – Moody’s, S&P
 Shadow Banks - operate outside the traditional commercial
banking sector & not regulated by RBI. Mobilize funds by
borrowing from banks, issuing Commercial Papers (CP) and Bonds.
 RBI’s remedies against Shadow Banking - tightened Asset-Liability
Management (ALM) norms for NBFCs. In 2021, RBI proposed 4-
tier structure for tighter regulation of NBFCs.
 IC1 Companies - companies with Interest Coverage Ratio < 1, they
don’t generate enough revenue even to repay the loan interest.
(IC > 1 is good and IC < 1 is bad).
 Letter of Undertaking/ Letter of Credit/ Letter of Comfort - Bank
Guarantee given from one bank to other, so that the other bank
issues loans to someone. (think Nirav Modi - PNB Case)
 The term ‘rediscount the bills’ is used for Short-term Debt
Instruments which are sold at discount and re-purchased at face-
value.
 The term ‘Near Money’ refers to Highly Liquid Assets.
 Union Govt.’s Short Term Debt Instruments – Treasury Bills, CMDs
(Cash Management Bills), and WMAs (Ways & Means Advances,
used when Govt. faces short term mismatch in receipt (income)
and payment (Expenditure), then RBI lends money on short term,
this instrument is not counted in fiscal deficit figure).
 Promissory Note – Short Term Debt Instrument of Companies,
Participatory Note (P-Note) – They are Offshore Derivative
Instruments that derive the value from the underlying Indian
shares and bonds. E.g. - A foreigner wants to invest money in
 India, but does not wish to register in India’s Regulatory
Frameworks. So, he approaches a SEBI-registered FII/FPI (foreign
Institutional/Portfolio Investor) such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman
Sachs. He’ll pay them & instruct them to purchase particular
shares and bonds and store them in their DEMAT account. Then
FII will give him P-Notes, and he’ll receive interest and dividend
accordingly.
 LIBOR (London Inter-bank Offered Rate) – the average interest
rate at which banks in London give Short Term Loans to each
other.
 Sweat Equity - Shares sold at discount to employees for their
value addition to company
 ESOP (Employee Stock Option Plan) – Shares, given free to
employees, to increase their loyalty/motivation for company
 Penny Stocks - Shares whose market price remains excessively low
compared to its face value.
 Corporate Strategic Investor - Invests in a start-up company with
goal of acquiring the company or its technology at later date.
 Share Pledging - When promoter of a company pledges his shares
as collateral to borrow loans from a bank / NBFC.
 Oldest Stock Exchange – Worldwide (Amsterdam, 1602); Asia
(Bombay Stock Exchange, 1875)
 IIBX (2022) (India International Bullion Exchange) is India’s 1st
bullion exchange (gold and silver is traded for 24/7 basis), located
at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
 Hedge Funds are ‘Mutual Funds for Rich People’. They offer high
risk and high return.
 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) – 3 Types – Category 1 (Have
+ve spill-over effect on economy, like Infra Funds, Social Funds),
Category 2 (Neither Cat. 1 Nor Cat.3), Category 3 (Take excessive
risk to generate high returns in short period of time, like Hedge
Funds).
 Call & Put Option - In Futures Markets, there is a risk of other
party not honouring commitment if he’s getting better deal
elsewhere in the future. So, for protecting (hedging) themselves,
the buyer/seller may buy ‘Option’ from a third party by paying
fees. Option is a type of insurance for executing the Future
Contract in a manner beneficial to both parties. Such ‘Insurance
Options’ are of 2 types - Call Option and Put Option.
 Derivative - a contract whose value is derived from the value of
another underlying asset. SWAP is a Derivative Instrument to
exchange one financial asset with another, to reduce the risk.
 Bancassurance – selling of ‘insurance products’ using Banks as
‘agents’.
Indices
 RESIDEX – by NHB (National Housing Bank) - to monitor
residential real estate prices.

Initiatives
 CTS (Cheque Truncation System) & Positive Pay Mechanism – by
NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) – to prevent
forgery from recipient’s end, by sending a scanned copy of cheque
to sender’s bank by the sender.
 RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) and NEFT (National Electronic
Funds Transfer) – RBI’s Centralized Payment Systems
 ImPS (Immediate Payment Service) – NPCI’s Centralized Payment
System
 123Pay – under UPI, launched by RBI with NPCI’s help – for
people without smart-phones to do online payments
 BHIM (2016) (Bharat Interface for Money) – by NPCI
 RuPay Card Payment Gateway (2012) – by NPCI – credit card like
Visa/ MasterCard, charges less fee. RuPay Debit Card is given free
with PMJDY (Jan Dhan Yojana) Bank Account
 E-Rupi (2021) – by NPCI using its UPI Platform , supported by
Finance Ministry’s Dept. of Financial Services and Health
 Ministry’s National Health Authority – used for Direct Benefit
Transfer, is a SMS /QR Code based Prepaid Cashless Electronic
Voucher
 BharatQR - by NPCI, Visa, MasterCard – standardized QR Code for
payments, allows interoperability
 Offline Retail Payments using Cards and Mobile Devices – RBI
initiative for areas with internet connectivity issues for error-free
digital transactions in such areas.
 CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) – issued by RBI – currency
notes in digital format.
 Open Market Operations – RBI buys/sells G-Sec in order to fight
inflation.
 Operation Twist (2019) – Special Open Market Operation (OMO),
where RBI started buying long-term G-Securities, thus ↑ their
demand in secondary market → thus ↑ their price in secondary
market → yield of G-Sec ↓ → Corporate Bond interest rates need
not be very high in order to attract people. Main purpose was not
to fight inflation.
 G-SAP (2021) (G-Security Acquisition Programme) - type of OMO,
RBI bought G-Sec from Secondary market in order to increase
money supply.
 PSLC (2016) Priority Sector Lending Certificates – overachieving
banks can sell their excess PSL in form of ‘certificates’ to
underachieving banks.
 External Benchmark Method (2019) – by RBI - Bank’s Loan
Interest Rate = External Benchmark + Spread (Profit) + Risk
premium. Banks free to choose External Benchmark Rate from a
set of Rates prescribed by RBI. Allows for faster transmission of
Monetary Policy, transparency & accountability to borrowers.
 C-PACE (2022) (Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit)
- to enable faster voluntary liquidation of the companies.
 PCA framework (Prompt Corrective Framework) - RBI classifies
the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) into 3 Risk Threshold
Classes, based on - capital, loan-asset quality etc. Higher the
number, higher the risk. This is a Qualitative Tool of Monetary
Policy.
From 2022 onwards, RBI to monitor NBFCs as well, using 3
indicators - 1) NPAs, 2) BASEL-Capital Adequacy Ratio, 3) BASEL-
Tier 1 Capital. Right now, these PCA norms applicable only on
Deposit-taking-NBFCs.
 RBI’s 4-Tiered Regulatory Framework for Urban Cooperative
Banks (2022) – based on deposit ranges of these banks. Higher
the tier, stricter the RBI norms under BASEL III Framework.
 Utkarsh-2022 Roadmap – under recommendations of Viral
Acharya Committee (2019), framework to improve RBI regulation
& supervision.
 Daksh web system 2022 - under recommendations of Viral
Acharya Committee (2019). Banks/NBFCs send their compliance
reports to RBI, RBI can monitor them more effectively.
 IndAS (Indian Accounting Standards) – mandated by Ministry of
Corporate Affairs, all the companies to keep their balance sheet as
per the format prescribed in IndAS. It makes it easier for the local
and global investors and regulators to compare analyze and
understand a company’s financial position from its balance sheet.
 EASE Agenda (2018) (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) –
Finance Ministry’s Dept. of Financial Services released the EASE
framework, to make PSBs more ‘responsive’ and ‘responsible’.
 Staff Accountability Framework for PSB-NPA (2022) - If PSB
Banker took bona-fide business decisions to approve loan
application but it turned NPA then banker will be protected from
undue harassment by Central Agencies.
 Sovereign Green Bonds (2022) - Long Term Debt Instruments, RBI
sells them via E-Kuber platform, Money will go to CFI & used only
for Green Projects. Projects reviewed by Finance Ministry’s GFWC
 (Green Finance Working Committee) headed by the Chief
Economic Advisor.
World’s 1st Green Bond launched by World Bank (2007), BRICS-
NBD issued Yuan- green Bonds (2016).
 DEMAT Account – Depositories (organizations) hold the securities
in electronic form. Then facilitates its trading online. These
accounts are called DEMAT Accounts. Can be opened in a bank or
an NBFC. SEBI regulates them under the Depositories Act 1996.
 ASBA Reforms (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) -
Rupal Panchal (2005) Scam forced SEBI to make PAN Cards
compulsory for opening DEMAT Accounts. SEBI also introduced
ASBA Reforms which allows the underwriter to block the amount
in IPO-investor-applicant’s bank account, but only IF shares
allotted to the applicant, his bank money will be deducted.
 SEBI Investor Charter (2021) - for financial investors across all
financial products (In parallel with Citizen’s Charter – a document
of commitments made by a govt. agency to the citizens, in respect
of the services being provided to them. 1st started by British PM
John Major in 1990s)
 Side Pocketing – SEBI’s technical guidelines to help Mutual Funds
to separate their stressed assets from standard assets. Helps
protecting the investors.
  Central Data Processing Centre (Budget 2023) – Initiative of
Ministry of Corporate Affairs, for faster processing of various
forms filled by Companies under the Companies Act.
 De-tariffication (Economic Survey, 2023) – making insurance
premium based on risk profile of the driver.

Organizations – Global
 CARF – Global level framework against Crypto-currency tax
evasion
 World Bank – issued Bond-i (2018) - World’s first block-chain
bond, denomination is Australian Dollars.
 World Economic Forum – ‘Block-chain Bill of Rights’ - about
rights to accountability, transparency, data privacy, data
protection.
 NGFS (Network for Greening the Financial System) - HQ: Paris,
Foundation Year: 2017 - group of central banks to contribute to
the development of environment. RBI joined in 2021.
 G20’s FSB (2009) (Financial Stability Board) HQ @ Basel – came up
with the concept of LEI (Legal Entity Identifier). Also, it asked
countries to identify Domestic Systematic Important Banks (too-
big-to-fail banks) and put framework to reduce risk in them. India
 has 3 members in FSB - Secretary of DEA (Finance Ministry), SEBI
chairman, and Dy. Governor of RBI.
 G7’s FATF (1989) (Financial Action Task Force) HQ @ Paris -
combats money laundering and terror finance. India is a member
since 2010.
 IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) -
body of world's Securities Regulators. SEBI is a member. Famous
for IOSCO Guidelines for “investors’ protection & risk prevention”.
 BIS (Bank for International Settlements) - International institution
made up of 60 Central Banks. HQ @ BASEL, Switzerland. It gave
Basel III Norms in 2011. Implemented by RBI in 2013 under which
it asks Banks to keep a Minimum Capital to Risk Weighted Assets
Ratio (CRAR) at 9%. Applies on Differential Banks, Cooperative
Banks, AIFI, and certain category of NBFCs (however they may
have different CRAR %).
 SWIFT System - Cooperative organization in Belgium, serves a
messaging function for Banks/NBFCs who may not have direct
bank relations due to international borders.
(Within India – SFMS (Structured Financial Messaging System) -
serves a messaging function in NEFT/RTGS/inter-bank/intra-
bank/E-transactions platforms within India.)
  NDB (New Development Bank) (2014) - BRICS Nations set up this
bank, HQ: Shanghai

Organizations - India
 Regional Rural Banks (1976) – Differential Bank established under
recommendations of M. Narsihman Committee on Financial
Inclusion (1970s), regulated by NABARD (and RBI). Set up by
Union/ State Govt.
 Local Area Bank (1996) – Differential Banks imagined by Finance
Minister Manmohan Singh, set up by private individuals,
regulated by RBI.
 Small Finance Bank (2014) & Payments bank (2015) – types of
Differential Banks. SFB & PB can sell Mutual Fund, Pension,
Insurance policies with approvals of SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA.
 IPPB (2018) (India Post Payment Bank) - Public Limited Company
under Companies Act, owned by Dept. of Posts (Ministry of IT and
Communication). Is a Payment Bank.
 EXIM (1982) (Export-Import Bank of India) – GoI owned AIFI (All
India Financial Institutions, type of Non-Bank), promotes cross
border trade and investment. AIFIs are not ‘banks’ because can’t
accept direct deposits from the public.
 NABARD (1982) (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development) – GoI owned AIFI, indirect loans to farmers,
artisans via RRBs. Operates RIDF (Rural Infra Development Fund)
& regulates RRBs.
 NHB (1988) (National Housing Bank) – AIFI, earlier owned by RBI,
now owned by GoI. Provides finance to Banks, NBFCs for housing
projects.
 SIDBI (1990) (Small Industries Development Bank of India) – AIFI,
earlier owned by IDBI, now owned by SBI/LIC etc. Operates
udyamimitra.in for loans to small entrepreneurs.
 MUDRA (2015) - A non-deposit taking NBFC owned by SIDBI. It
gives indirect loans to Micro enterprises through PM Mudra
Yojana.
 NABFID (2022) (National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and
Development) – AIFI set up by NABFID Act,2021; HQ : Mumbai.
Funding from RBI, Govt, World Bank, bonds. Will help in National
Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) project.
 DFI (Development Finance Institutions) – Financial
Intermediaries, gave loans to industries. Discontinued after
recommendations of Narsihman II Committee (1997)
 NARCL-ARC (2021) - National Asset Reconstruction Company
Limited, registered under Companies Act, 2013 (not a statutory
 body). Purchases bad loan assets from banks. Majority
Shareholder – PSBs (51%)
 IDRCL-AMC (2021) - India Debt Resolution Company Ltd. – Asset
Management Company, registered under Companies Act, 2013
(not a statutory body). Auctions those bad loan assets which were
purchased by NARCL. Majority Shareholder – PrSBs & NBFCs
(51%)
 NPCI (2008) (National Payments Corporation of India) – Not-for-
Profit Company under Companies Act, 2013. Provides cost-
effective payment solutions / technology for banks. Initiatives –
UPI, BHIM, ImPS, CTS, RuPay, E-Rupi, BharatQR
 Clearing Corporation of India (CCI) – provides digital
infrastructure for share/bond/foreign currency deals etc, manages
LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) in India. Also helps Financial
Intermediaries to get short term loans through CBLOs (Short term
Debt Instrument).
 NFIR (2023) (National Financial Information Registry) - Credit
Rating Initiative, designed by RBI, info on both individual borrower
and company borrowers, will provide 360 degree information
about a loan applicant’s creditworthiness. It will contain info on
all the loans taken by them through Banks, NBFCs, bonds, etc.
 WDRA (Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority) -
Statutory body under Dept of Food & Public Distribution of
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
Responsible for warehousing, vaulting & logistics of Gold
Exchanges (Gold Exchanges are regulated by SEBI).
 NISM (2006) (National Institute of Securities Markets) - set up by
SEBI, HQ @ Mumbai, for capacity building for financial market
professionals. NISM will give them degrees and diplomas.
 ESIC (1952) (Employees' State Insurance Corporation) – Statutory
Body under Labour Ministry, Employees (permanent/ temporary)
& Employers in ‘Non-Seasonal Industries with > 10 people’ or in
‘Hazardous Industries’, (monthly salary less than ₹21,000/-),
contribute in ESIC, which invests the money in G-Secs, Shares
(15% from 2022). Employees get medical, maternity, pension
benefits (in case of injuries), and unemployment allowance.
Nirman Se Shakti -initiative to modernise the infrastructure of
ESIC hospitals.
 ECGC (1957) (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) –
under Commerce Ministry, gives insurance cover to exporters and
credit guarantee to banks who give loan to exporters. Associated
with NIRVIK Scheme (2019).
  National Health Authority (2018) – is an attached office with
Health Ministry, oversees the implementation of PM-JAY. It has a
CEO. Above NHA, exists a ‘Governing Board’ under Chairmanship
of Health & Family Welfare Minister.

Regulatory Bodies/ Tribunals

 Digital Transactions Ombudsman (2019) – under RBI - hear
customer complaints upto ₹ 20 lakh against Prepaid Payment
Instruments, Mobile Wallets, NEFT/RTGS and other digital
transactions. Higher Appeal to Dy. Governor of RBI.
 BPSS (Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and
Settlement Systems) – under RBI – Statutory Body under Payment
& Settlement Systems Act, 2007. All types of Payment System
Providers have to register with BPSS.
 RBI + Ministry of Corporate Affairs – regulate Micro Finance
Institutions, type of NBFC.
 RBI – regulates Housing Finance Companies.
 Ministry of Corporate Affairs – regulates NIDHI Companies
(Mutual benefit Companies where only members can borrow),
controls IBBI. Statutory Body under this ministry – Competition
Corporation of India. Manages IEPF (Investor Education &
Protection Fund), SPICe Platform, MCA21 Platform.
 SEBI – (HQ: Mumbai, founded in 1988, became Statutory Body in
1992). SEBI Board – (Chairman, RBI official, Govt. officers).
Regulates Mutual Funds, REITs* (Real Estate Investment Trusts),
InvITs* (Infrastructure Investment Trusts), Investment
Banks/Merchant Banking Companies (manage wealth of Rich
People), Venture Capital Fund, Commodity Exchanges (including
Gold Exchange). Higher appeals to Securities Appellate Tribunal
and then to Supreme Court. *(REITs & InvITs are Investment
Funds directed at High Net Worth Individuals, through which
‘stressed’ developers get fresh finance to finish the project.)
 IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) – Life,
General Insurance, Policy Aggregator Platform regulator.
Regulates Surety Bonds (Introduced in 2022, cover Govt. losses if
a project isn’t completed in due time by a contractor as
compensation).
 PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) -
regulates all Pension Funds, except EPFO & other statutory funds.
 SAT (Securities Appellate Tribunal) – Appellate Authority for SEBI,
IRDAI, PFRDA.
 DRT (Debt Recovery Tribunals) – set up in 1993, after Narsimhan I
Committee’s recommendations. Strengthened by SARFAESI Act,
 2002. Higher appeal to DRAT (Appellate Body), then to High
Courts.
 IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) - statutory body,
monitors and implements I&B Code 2016, administrative control
rests with Ministry of Corporate Affairs. IBBI selects Insolvency
Professionals Agencies (IPAs) (who enrol and supervise Insolvency
Professionals (IPs)). Manages Information Utility Database of
borrowers.
 Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0) (2021) - to give
suggestions to RBI to simplify its rules so Banks/NBFCs have ease
of doing business, Chairperson – RBI Dy. Governor.
 Bank Board Bureau (BBB) (2016) – Set up after Gyan Sangam I
(2015), non-constitutional, non-statutory body. Set up to
interview & select top officials for PSBs, Public Sector Insurance
Companies, NABARD, SIDBI etc (Actual appointments of these top
officials of Banks/Non-Banks done by Finance Ministry’s
Department of Financial Services). BBB has 1 Chairman (usually a
retired IAS).
BBB has been replaced by FSIB (Financial Services Institutions
Bureau) in 2022, which performs same functions.
 FSDC (2010) (Financial Stability & Development Council) - Finance
Minister is ex-Officio Chairman; members include RBI Governor,
 SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, and IBBI chiefs & govt officials. Assisted by
DEA (Department of Economic Affairs). Tasked with supervision of
the economy & large financial conglomerates, coordination
among regulators, financial literacy, and financial inclusion.
Regulatory Bodies under Companies Act, 2013 –
 NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) – set up in 2016, under
Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (2016) for Financial & Operational
Creditors to approach in cases of defaults by - 1) individuals or
partnership firms (go to DRT/DRAT); 2) companies (go to
NCLT/NCALT). Has judicial + technical functions, handles cases
related to board -room battles, mergers/acquisitions, I&B Code.
Appellate Body – NCLAT.
 NFRA (National Financial Reporting Authority) - Sets standards for
Auditors & CAs in listed companies (debars them in case of
malpractices). Has powers of a Civil Court. Appellate Body –
NFRAA.
 IEPF (Investor Education & Protection Fund) – Headed by Chief
Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (Ex-Officio Post). Uses
unclaimed money from shares/bonds for financial literacy and
awareness. Appellate Body – General Courts.
 SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) - Investigates white-
collar (financial) frauds. Powers to search, seize, arrest. Once SFIO
 gets case, other agencies (like CBI) can’t proceed. Appellate Body
– General Courts.

Reports
 Annual Financial Stability Report – by RBI