Introduction to Indian Financial Sector and it’s Reforms
The Indian financial system of the pre-reform period, before 1991, essentially catered to the needs of planned development in a mixed-economy framework, where the Government sector had a predominant role in economic activity. Interest rates on Government securities were artificially pegged at low levels, which were unrelated to the market conditions. The system of administered interest rates was characterized by detailed prescriptions on the lending and the deposit side, leading to multiplicity and complexity of interest rates. Consequently, by the end of the eighties, directed and concessional availability of bank credit to certain sectors adversely affected the viability and profitability of banks. Thus, the transactions of the Government, the Reserve Bank of India and the commercial banks were governed by fiscal priorities rather than sound principles of financial management and commercial viability. It was then recognized that this approach, which, conceptually, sought to enhance efficiency through a co-ordinate approach, actually Continue reading