MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) Introduces Kiosk Banking in 3 Rural Indian Villages

The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), a government-owned financial services company, reportedly has installed kiosk banking units in three rural villages in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The kiosks will authenticate users by utilizing biometric authentication devices. The services provided by the kiosks has not been indicated. The installment of these units is part of the bank’s Financial Inclusion Plan (FIP), which involves seeking to increase the availability of mainstream banking services in rural areas of India [1]. In 2010, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) advised Indian banks to include an FIP in their corporate strategies [2].

IDBI is a Mumbai-based bank that was founded in 1956. The bank offers financial solutions to retail and corporate clients. As of 2013, IDBI has a network of 1,159 branches, and as of 2012 it reported total assets of USD 41 billion. As of 2014, RBI has assets of INR 25 trillion (USD 408 billion) [3].

By Meraj Husain, Research Associate

About Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI)

Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) is a Mumbai-based commercial bank that is majority-owned by the Indian government. It was founded in 1956. The bank offers financial solutions to retail and corporate clients. As of 2013, IDBI has a network of 1,159 branches, and as of 2012 it reported total assets of USD 41 billion.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Established in 1935, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) undertakes consolidated supervision of the financial sector comprising commercial banks, financial institutions and non-banking finance companies (NFBCs). The current focus of RBI is to supervise financial institutions, consolidate accounting standards, resolve legal issues in cases of banking fraud, monitor non-performing assets and supervise the rating model for the banking sector. In 1979, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was formed at the behest of RBI to provide regulatory oversight to regional rural banks (RRBs) and to promote the development of agricultural lenders: tasks that had been the responsibility of RBI. While non-banking financial companies such as for-profit microfinance institutions operate under RBI regulations, the responsibility for inspecting agricultural lenders, RRBs, state cooperative banks, district central cooperative banks and state cooperative agricultural and rural development banks was transferred to NABARD. RBI maintains these responsibilities for for-profit MFIs. Although RBI was originally the parent organization of NABARD and until October 2010 held a 72.5 percent stake in the outfit, RBI owns a one-percent stake in NABARD as of 2011. As of 2014, RBI has assets of INR 25 trillion (USD 408 billion).

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] Money Guru India: “IDBI Bank tries financial inclusion through kiosk banking,” http://www.moneyguruindia.com/article.php?cid=6148&id=2

[2] Reserve Bank of India: “Annual Report,” http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/AnnualReportPublications.aspx?Id=1082

[3] Reserve Bank of India: “Weekly Statistical Supplement,” http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Wss/PDFs/1T_WSS240114F.pdf

MicroCapital, November 17, 2013, “Wholesale Microfinance Lender Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth (Ananya) of India Riases Equity Capital of $2.86 from Women’s World Banking, Industrial Development Bank of India,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-wholesale-microfinance-lender-ananya-finance-for-inclusive-growth-ananya-of-india-raises-equity-capital-of-2-86m-from-womens-world-banking-industrial-development-bank/

MicroCapital, September 28, 2013, “Indian Government Seeks Parliamentary Approval for $859m in Spending for Women’s Bank; Women’s Safety; Skills Training; Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs); International Monetary Fund (IMF),” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-indian-government-seeks-parliamentary-approval-for-859m-in-spending-for-womens-bank-womens-safety-skills-training-micro-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=IDBI+Bank

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Reserve+Bank+of+India+%28RBI%29

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/

Similar Posts: