Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934

Last updated

Reserve Bank of India Act
Star of the Order of the Star of India (gold).svg
Imperial Legislative Council
  • An Act to constitute a Reserve Bank of India
Citation Act No. 2 of 1934
Territorial extentWhole of India
Enacted by Imperial Legislative Council
Enacted6 March 1934
Commenced1 April 1935
Status: In force

Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 is the legislative act under which the Reserve Bank of India was formed. This act along with the Companies Act, which was amended in 1936, were meant to provide a framework for the supervision of banking firms in India. [1]

Summary

The Act contains the definition of the so-called scheduled banks, as they are mentioned in the 2nd Schedule of the Act. These are banks which were to have paid up capital and reserves above 5 lakh. [2]

There are various section in the RBI Act but the most controversial and confusing section is Section 7. Although this section has been used only once by the central govt, [3] it puts a restriction on the autonomy of the RBI. Section 7 states that central government can legislate the functioning of the RBI through the RBI board, and the RBI is not an autonomous body.

Section 17 of the Act defines the manner in which the RBI (the central bank of India) can conduct business. The RBI can accept deposits from the central and state governments without interest. It can purchase and discount bills of exchange from commercial banks. It can purchase foreign exchange from banks and sell it to them. It can provide loans to banks and state financial corporations. It can provide advances to the central government and state governments. It can buy or sell government securities. It can deal in derivative, repo and reverse repo. [2]

Section 18 deals with emergency loans to banks. Section 21 states that the RBI must conduct banking affairs for the central government and manage public debt. Section 22 states that only the RBI has the exclusive rights to issue currency notes in India. Section 24 states that the maximum denomination a note can be is 10,000 (US$130).

Section 26 of Act describes the legal tender character of Indian bank notes.

Section 28 allows the RBI to form rules regarding the exchange of damaged and imperfect notes. [2]

Section 31 states that in India, only the RBI or the central government can issue and accept promissory notes that are payable on demand. However, cheques, that are payable on demand, can be issued by anyone. [2]

Section 42(1) says that every scheduled bank must have an average daily balance with the RBI. The amount of the deposit shall be more than a certain percentage of its net time and demand liabilities in India. [2]

Related Research Articles

The monetary policy of The United States is the set of policies related to the minting and printing of United States dollars, plus the legal exchange of currency, demand deposits, the money supply, etc. In the United States, the central bank, The Federal Reserve System, colloquially known as "The Fed" is the monetary authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money supply</span> Total value of money available in an economy at a specific point in time

In macroeconomics, the money supply refers to the total volume of currency held by the public at a particular point in time. There are several ways to define "money", but standard measures usually include currency in circulation and demand deposits. The central bank of a country may use a definition of what constitutes legal tender for its purposes.

A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money market</span> Type of financial market providing short-term funds

The money market is a component of the economy that provides short-term funds. The money market deals in short-term loans, generally for a period of a year or less.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserve Bank of India</span> Central bank of India

The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for the control, issue and maintaining supply of the Indian rupee. It also manages the country's main payment systems and works to promote its economic development. Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNM) is a specialised division of RBI through which it prints and mints Indian currency notes (INR) in four of its currency printing presses located in Nashik, Dewas, Mysore and Salboni. The RBI established the National Payments Corporation of India as one of its specialised division to regulate the payment and settlement systems in India. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation was established by RBI as one of its specialised division for the purpose of providing insurance of deposits and guaranteeing of credit facilities to all Indian banks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fractional-reserve banking</span> System of banking

Fractional-reserve banking is the system of banking operating in almost all countries worldwide, under which banks that take deposits from the public are required to hold a proportion of their deposit liabilities in liquid assets as a reserve, and are at liberty to lend the remainder to borrowers. Bank reserves are held as cash in the bank or as balances in the bank's account at the central bank. The country's central bank determines the minimum amount that banks must hold in liquid assets, called the "reserve requirement" or "reserve ratio". Most commercial banks hold more than this minimum amount as excess reserves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Repurchase agreement</span> Form of short-term borrowing

A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is a form of short-term borrowing, mainly in government securities. The dealer sells the underlying security to investors and, by agreement between the two parties, buys them back shortly afterwards, usually the following day, at a slightly higher price.

In macroeconomics, an open market operation (OMO) is an activity by a central bank to give liquidity in its currency to a bank or a group of banks. The central bank can either buy or sell government bonds in the open market or, in what is now mostly the preferred solution, enter into a repo or secured lending transaction with a commercial bank: the central bank gives the money as a deposit for a defined period and synchronously takes an eligible asset as collateral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money creation</span> Process by which the money supply of an economic region is increased

Money creation, or money issuance, is the process by which the money supply of a country, or of an economic or monetary region, is increased. In most modern economies, money creation is controlled by the central banks. Money issued by central banks is termed base money. Central banks can increase the quantity of base money directly, by engaging in open market operations. However, the majority of the money supply is created by the commercial banking system in the form of bank deposits. Bank loans issued by commercial banks that practice fractional reserve banking expands the quantity of broad money to more than the original amount of base money issued by the central bank.

Modern banking in India originated in the mid of 18th century. Among the first banks were the Bank of Hindustan, which was established in 1770 and liquidated in 1829–32; and the General Bank of India, established in 1786 but failed in 1791.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech National Bank</span> Central Bank of Czech Republic

The Czech National Bank, is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is and a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on 1 January 1993 from the division of the State Bank of Czechoslovakia as part of the process of dissolution of Czechoslovakia, together with the National Bank of Slovakia.

Bank rate, also known as discount rate in American English, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on its loans and advances to a commercial bank. The bank rate is known by a number of different terms depending on the country, and has changed over time in some countries as the mechanisms used to manage the rate have changed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank</span> Financial institution which accepts deposits

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.

Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 of India, engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares, stock, bonds, hire-purchase insurance business or chit-fund business, but does not include any institution whose principle business is that of agriculture, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

The interbank lending market is a market in which banks lend funds to one another for a specified term. Most interbank loans are for maturities of one week or less, the majority being overnight. Such loans are made at the interbank rate. A sharp decline in transaction volume in this market was a major contributing factor to the collapse of several financial institutions during the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

<i>Bank of Canada Act</i> Act of the Parliament of Canada

The Bank of Canada Act is a statute that sets out the governance structure and powers of the Bank of Canada, which was created in 1934 as Canada's central bank.

Monetary policy in the United States is associated with interest rates and availability of credit.

SFB are a type of niche banks in India. Banks with a small finance bank (SFB) license can provide basic banking service of acceptance of deposits and lending. The aim behind these is to provide financial inclusion to sections of the economy not being served by other banks, such as small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited is an Indian small finance bank based in Bangalore, which commenced operations on 1 February 2017. Ujjivan Financial Services holds an 80 percent stake in the bank.

Financial regulation in India is governed by a number of regulatory bodies. Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization. Financial regulation has also influenced the structure of banking sectors by increasing the variety of financial products available. Financial regulation forms one of three legal categories which constitutes the content of financial law, the other two being market practices and case law.

References

  1. Pathak (1 May 2007). Legal Aspects Of Business. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. 460. ISBN   978-0-07-065613-0 . Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Vijayaragavan Iyengar (1 January 2009). Introduction to Banking. Excel Books India. pp. 155–. ISBN   978-81-7446-569-6 . Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. "Central Government invokes Section 7 Act 1934: History and amendment". India Today . 1 November 2018.