Financial Reforms in India A Comparative Study

The financial development was given impetus with the adoption of social control over banks in 1967 and nationalisation of 14 major scheduled banks in July 1969. Since then, the banking system has formed the core of the Indian financial system. In the three decades following the first round of nationalisation (the second round consists of 6 commercial banks in April 1980), aggregate deposits of scheduled commercial banks have increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 17.8 per cent during this period (1969 to 1999), while bank credit expended at the rate of 16.3 per cent per annum. Money being lever for economic development, financial sector reform is considered as integral part of the liberalization policy strategy under the new economic policy.Financial sector reforms mainly aim at eliminating distortion in the financial markets induced by government interventions and encouraging competition to improve efficiency of financial intermediations. The financial sector reforms also require to ensure that the financial sector operates on the basis of operational flexibility and functional autonomy with a view to enhancing efficiency, productivity, sustainability.