Important Banking and Insurance Acts in India:
The acts listed below are commonly asked in the major banking recruitment examinations of our country namely IBPS and SSC. These examinations ask this kind of topic as a General Knowledge Questions or to test your awareness during an interview.
List Of All The Acts Related To Bank:
Important Banking Acts of India:
Banking Regulation Act, 1949: This is the most important banking legislation in India as it regulates all the banking firms and cooperative banks in India. This act provides a framework for commercial banking services in India. This gives RBI the power to license banks, have regulation over shareholding and voting rights of shareholders; supervise the appointment of the boards and management; regulate the operations of banks; lay down instructions for audits; control moratorium, mergers, and liquidation; issue directives in the interests of public good and on banking policy, and impose penalties.
RBI Act, 1934: This is the legislative act that leads to the formation of the Reserve Bank of India. The act defines scheduled banks and the basic framework of how banks in India are meant to function under the supervision of RBI.
Insurance Act, 1938: This law was originally passed in British India to regulate the insurance sector. It provides a legal framework for the operation of the insurance industry. This act was amended in 2015 to make the act more effectively in the modern days.
SBI Act, 1955: This act was legislated to constitute a bank known as the State Bank of India that was transferred to the undertaking of the Imperial Bank of India. This act was meant for the extension of banking facilities particularly for rural and semi-urban areas of India available to the common citizens.
Partnership Act, 1932: This act was meant to regulate partnership firms in India. It came into force on 1 October 1932. This act defines partnership as “Partnership is an agreement between two or more persons who have agreed to share profits of the business carried on by all or any one of them acting upon all.” It also describes the laws according to which businesses can form or break partnerships.
Companies Act, 2013: The companies act of 2013 is meant to regulate the incorporation of a company, responsibilities of a company, directors, dissolution of a company. This act is an extension of the old companies act of 1956 and introduces the new concepts such as:
- One Person Companies (OPC)
- Women Directors
- Corporate Social Responsibility.
- Registered Valuers
- Rotation of Auditors
- Class Action
- Dormant Company
- Fast Track Mergers
Serious Fraud Investigation Office:
Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002: This act allows banks and financial institutions to auction commercial properties to recover loans. This act has lead to the setup of the first asset reconstruction company (ARC) of India, ARCIL. This law only applies to secured loans that are above 1 lac. in amount and when the remaining debt is above 20% of the original principal.
Financial Regulators in India
SEBI
Functioning under the SEBI Act of 1992, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was established in the year 1988 as a non-statutory body that regulates the securities market. In 1992, it became an autonomous body and many more powers were provided to this body. Since 1992, SEBI has been regulating the market using independent powers.
RBI
The Reserve Bank of India of India is the most important monetary organisation in India. This is commonly called the central part of the country. It was established on 1st April 1935 after the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. After nationalization in 1949, the reserve bank is fully owned by the Government of India. Its headquarters in Mumbai is the location where most laws of the financial world are made and maintained.
IRDA
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is the national organization for the understanding of Insurance Law in India. It was formed after the IRDA Act of 1999. This act was amended in 2002 for incorporating some emerging requirements of the country. The mission statement of IRDA is “to protect the interests of the policyholders, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”.
PFRDA
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority was established on 23rd august 2003. After the PFRDA act of 10th October 2003, PFRDA has been mandated to act as a pension sector regulator. The main purpose of PFRDA is the development and regulation of the pension sector in India.