Bank Fixed Deposits Bank Fixed Deposits are also known as Term Deposits.

In a Fixed Deposit Account, a certain sum of money is deposited in the bank for a specified time period with a fixed rate of interest. The rate of interest for Bank Fixed Deposits depends on the maturity period. It is higher in case of longer maturity period. There is great flexibility in maturity period and it ranges from 15days to 5 years. Current Account Current Account is primarily meant for businessmen, firms, companies, public enterprises etc. that have numerous daily banking transactions. Current Accounts are cheque operated accounts meant neither for the purpose of earning interest nor for the purpose of savings but only for convenience of business hence they are non-interest bearing accounts Demat Account Demat refers to a dematerialised account. Demat account is just like a bank account where actual money is replaced by shares. Just as a bank account is required if we want to save money or make cheque payments, we need to open a demat account in order to buy or sell shares. Recurring Bank Deposits Under a Recurring Deposit account (RD account), a specific amount is invested in bank on monthly basis for a fixed rate of return. The deposit has a fixed tenure, at the end of which the principal sum as well as the interest earned during that period is returned to the investor. Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Though initially RBI was privately owned, it was nationalized in 1949. Its central office is in Mumbai where the Governor of RBI sits. Savings Bank Account Savings Bank Accounts are meant to promote the habit of saving among the citizens while allowing them to use their funds when required. The main advantage of Savings Bank Account is its high liquidity and safety. Senior Citizen Saving Scheme 2004 The Senior Citizen Saving Scheme 2004 had been introduced by the Government of India for the benefit of senior citizens who have crossed the age of 60 years. However, under some circumstances the people above 55 years of age are also eligible to enjoy the benefits of this scheme. Foreign Banks in India Foreign banks have brought latest technology and latest banking practices in India. They have helped made Indian Banking system more competitive and efficient. Government has come up with a road map for expansion of foreign banks in India.

Nationalised Banks Nationalised banks dominate the banking system in India. The history of nationalised banks in India dates back to mid-20th century, when Imperial Bank of India was nationalised (under the SBI Act of 1955) and re-christened as State Bank of India (SBI) in July 1955. Private Banks in India Initially all the banks in India were private banks, which were founded in the pre-independence era to cater to the banking needs of the people. In 1921, three major banks i.e. Banks of Bengal, Bank of Bombay, and Bank of Madras, merged to form Imperial Bank of India.

Loans in India

One of the reasons for boom in Indian economy is that now a days loans are easily available and the rate of interests at which they are available are very reasonable. Banks are giving loan for and loan against any and every thing. Government too is encouraging people to take loans for certain purposes. For example, government is encouraging people to take housing loans by giving tax concessions. In view of the deluge of loans that are available in the market today, we have come up with useful information about variety of loans that are available in India. These include: Home Loans India To have one's own home is the dream of every person. Now that getting a home loan is so easy it seems everyone can fulfill his / her long cherished dream. Auto Loans India With a plethora of auto loans opportunities available these days, it is now possible for you to buy your dream car. Business Loans India Several banks give loans to cater to business requirements. Banks have laid out a number of products specifically catering to SSI (small-scale industries) and Small Business Borrowers. Education Loans India Education is the essence of life. To ensure that no deserving student is denied education for want of funds government is promoting education loans in a big way. Marriage Loans India Marriage is one of the most important events in a person's life. You want to make sure that all the arrangements are perfect and match the occasion.

Personal Loans India Personal loan is an unsecured loan that does not require any security for borrowing money. Personal loans help you to take care of your immediate requirements without much of a hassle. Loans against home Loan against home connotes a loan that is given or disbursed against the mortgage of home. The loan against property is given as a certain percentage of market value of the property. Loans against auto Loan against auto is available in the form of overdraft against car. The rate of interest is lower than interest in case of personal loan. Loans against shares It is advisable to take loan against equity (shares & debentures) only when you are expecting a certain sum of money a few months down the line and you need some funds in the interim.

History of Banking in India

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Without a sound and effective banking system in India it cannot have a healthy economy. The banking system of India should not only be hassle free but it should be able to meet new challenges posed by the technology and any other external and internal factors. For the past three decades India's banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main reasons of India's growth process. The government's regular policy for Indian bank since 1969 has paid rich dividends with the nationalisation of 14 major private banks of India.

Not long ago, an account holder had to wait for hours at the bank counters for getting a draft or for withdrawing his own money. Today, he has a choice. Gone are days when the most efficient bank transferred money from one branch to other in two days. Now it is simple as instant messaging or dial a pizza. Money have become the order of the day. The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in 1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of Indian Banking System can be segregated into three distinct phases. They are as mentioned below:

Early phase from 1786 to 1969 of Indian Banks Nationalisation of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to Indian banking sector Reforms. New phase of Indian Banking System with the advent of Indian Financial & Banking Sector Reforms after 1991.

To make this write-up more explanatory, I prefix the scenario as Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. Phase I

The General Bank of India was set up in the year 1786. Next came Bank of Hindustan and Bengal Bank. The East India Company established Bank of Bengal (1809), Bank of Bombay (1840) and Bank of Madras (1843) as independent units and called it Presidency Banks. These three banks were amalgamated in 1920 and Imperial Bank of India was established which started as private shareholders banks, mostly Europeans shareholders. In 1865 Allahabad Bank was established and first time exclusively by Indians, Punjab National Bank Ltd. was set up in 1894 with headquarters at Lahore. Between 1906 and 1913, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Mysore were set up. Reserve Bank of India came in 1935. During the first phase the growth was very slow and banks also experienced periodic failures between 1913 and 1948. There were approximately 1100 banks, mostly small. To streamline the functioning and activities of commercial banks, the Government of India came up with The Banking Companies Act, 1949 which was later changed to Banking Regulation Act 1949 as per amending Act of 1965 (Act No. 23 of 1965). Reserve Bank of India was vested with extensive powers for the supervision of banking in india as the Central Banking Authority. During those days public has lesser confidence in the banks. As an aftermath deposit mobilisation was slow. Abreast of it the savings bank facility provided by the Postal department was comparatively safer. Moreover, funds were largely given to traders. Phase II

Government took major steps in this Indian Banking Sector Reform after independence. In 1955, it nationalised Imperial Bank of India with extensive banking facilities on a large scale specially in rural and

semi-urban areas. It formed State Bank of india to act as the principal agent of RBI and to handle banking transactions of the Union and State Governments all over the country. Seven banks forming subsidiary of State Bank of India was nationalised in 1960 on 19th July, 1969, major process of nationalisation was carried out. It was the effort of the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 14 major commercial banks in the country was nationalised. Second phase of nationalisation Indian Banking Sector Reform was carried out in 1980 with seven more banks. This step brought 80% of the banking segment in India under Government ownership. The following are the steps taken by the Government of India to Regulate Banking Institutions in the Country:

1949 : Enactment of Banking Regulation Act. 1955 : Nationalisation of State Bank of India. 1959 : Nationalisation of SBI subsidiaries. 1961 : Insurance cover extended to deposits. 1969 : Nationalisation of 14 major banks. 1971 : Creation of credit guarantee corporation. 1975 : Creation of regional rural banks. 1980 : Nationalisation of seven banks with deposits over 200 crore.

After the nationalisation of banks, the branches of the public sector bank India rose to approximately 800% in deposits and advances took a huge jump by 11,000%. Banking in the sunshine of Government ownership gave the public implicit faith and immense confidence about the sustainability of these institutions. Phase III This phase has introduced many more products and facilities in the banking sector in its reforms measure. In 1991, under the chairmanship of M Narasimham, a committee was set up by his name which worked for the liberalisation of banking practices. The country is flooded with foreign banks and their ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service to customers. Phone banking and net banking is introduced. The entire system became more convenient and swift. Time is given more importance than money. The financial system of India has shown a great deal of resilience. It is sheltered from any crisis triggered by any external macroeconomics shock as other East Asian Countries suffered. This is all due to a flexible exchange rate regime, the foreign reserves are high, the capital account is not yet fully convertible, and banks and their customers have limited foreign exchange exposure.

The scenario of Indian banking is witnessing a rapid transformation and stupendous changes in the wake of challenges thrown by the force of globalization, liberalization and massive development in the field of Information and Communication Technology. Liberalization and Globalization have revolutionized the Indian Banking industry. Bank have felt the need for consolidation their efforts on maximization of their benefits failing which their very existence is threatened. Retail banking has become the area of focus of many banks. While in the past the banking sector was highly regulated with little maneuverability to serve the requirements of the customers, the approach in recent year has clearly been on providing tailor-made solution to the customer with a focus on customer convenience and customer delight. The advent of Information and Communication Technology has its own impact on the banking services. Today, a banking product or service is just a click away! The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has established the Indian Financial Network System, which is an efficient and cost-effective communication system for banking. The payment system, which is the lifeline of linking, has benefited the most from the INFINET system. To make the fund transfer system safe and efficient, the RBI has added a new application system. Banking system occupies an important place in the economy of any nation. Banks which play diverse roles such as financial intermediaries, creators of money, agents of economic social change, promoters of enterprise, etc. are indispensable in a modern society. Banks play a crucial role in the economic development and promotion of inclusive growth through the process of financial inclusion. Banks to-day forms the core of the money market. Corporate banking which has evolved as an important branch of commercial banking plays a pivotal role in lubricating the process of growth of Corporate and the development of the entire corporate sector. The face of commercial banking all over the world has undergone lot of significant changes during the last two decades. The changes that have taken place in Indian Banking during the period have been far more significant and much more radical than elsewhere in the world

Banking in India originated in the last decades of the 18th century. The first banks were The General Bank of India which started in 1786, and the Bank of Hindustan, both of which are now defunct. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India, which originated in the Bank of Calcutta in June 1806, which almost immediately became the Bank of Bengal. This was one of the three presidency banks, the other two being the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras, all three of which were established under charters from the British East India Company. For many years the Presidency banks acted as quasi-central banks, as did their successors. The three banks merged in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India, which, upon India's independence, became the State Bank of India. Banks in India can be categorized into non-scheduled banks and scheduled banks. Scheduled banks constitute of commercial banks and co-operative banks. There are about 67,000 branches of Scheduled banks spread across India. During the first phase of financial reforms, there was a nationalization of 14 major banks in 1969. This crucial step led to a shift from Class banking to Mass banking. Since then the growth of the banking industry in India has been a continuous process. As far as the present scenario is concerned the banking industry is in a transition phase. The Public Sector Banks (PSBs), which are the foundation of the Indian Banking system account for more than 78 per cent of total banking industry assets. Unfortunately they are burdened with excessive Non Performing assets (NPAs), massive manpower and lack of modern technology. On the other hand the Private Sector Banks in India are witnessing immense progress. They are leaders in Internet banking, mobile banking, phone banking, ATMs. On the other hand the Public Sector Banks are still facing the problem of unhappy employees. There has been a decrease of 20 percent in the employee strength of the private sector in the wake of the Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS). As far as foreign banks are concerned they are likely to succeed in India. Indusland Bank was the first private bank to be set up in India. IDBI, ING Vysya Bank, SBI Commercial and International Bank Ltd, Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd, Karur Vysya Bank Ltd, Bank of Rajasthan Ltd etc are some Private Sector Banks. Banks from the Public Sector include Punjab National bank, Vijaya Bank, UCO Bank, Oriental Bank, Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank etc. ANZ Grind lays Bank, ABN-AMRO Bank, American Express Bank Ltd., Citibank etc are some foreign Union Bank of India Loans

By the 1960s, the Indian banking industry had become an important tool to facilitate the development of the Indian economy. At the same time, it had emerged as a large employer, and a debate had ensued about the possibility to nationalize the banking industry. Indira Gandhi, the-then Prime Minister of India expressed the intention of the GOI in the annual conference of the All India Congress Meeting in a paper entitled "Stray thoughts on Bank Nationalization." The paper was received with positive enthusiasm. Thereafter, her move was swift and sudden, and the GOI issued an ordinance and nationalized the 14 largest commercial banks with effect from the midnight of July 19, 1969. Jayaprakash Narayan, a national leader of India, described the step as a "masterstroke of political sagacity." Within two weeks of the issue of the ordinance, the Parliament passed the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill, and it received the presidential approval on 9 August 1969. A second dose of nationalization of 6 more commercial banks followed in 1980. The stated reason for the nationalization was to give the government more control of credit delivery. With the second dose of nationalization, the GOI controlled around 91% of the banking business of India. Later on, in the year 1993, the government merged New Bank of India with Punjab National Bank. It was the only merger between nationalized banks and resulted in the reduction of the number of nationalized banks from 20 to 19. After this, until the 1990s, the nationalized banks grew at a pace of around 4%, closer to the average growth rate of the Indian economy.