Without a sound and effective banking system in India it cannot have a healthy economy.

The banking system of India should not only be hassle free but it should be able to meet new challenges posed by the technology and any other external and internal factors. For the past three decades India's banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main reason of India's growth process. The government's regular policy for Indian bank since 1969 has paid rich dividends with the nationalisation of 14 major private banks of India. Not long ago, an account holder had to wait for hours at the bank counters for getting a draft or for withdrawing his own money. Today, he has a choice. Gone are days when the most efficient bank transferred money from one branch to other in two days. Now it is simple as instant messaging or dial a pizza. Money have become the order of the day. The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in 1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of Indian Banking System can be segregated into three distinct phases. They are as mentioned below:

Early phase from 1786 to 1969 of Indian Banks Nationalisation of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to Indian banking sector Reforms. New phase of Indian Banking System with the advent of Indian Financial & Banking Sector Reforms after 1991.

To make this write-up more explanatory, I prefix the scenario as Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. Phase I The General Bank of India was set up in the year 1786. Next came Bank of Hindustan and Bengal Bank. The East India Company established Bank of Bengal (1809), Bank of Bombay (1840) and Bank of Madras (1843) as independent units and called it Presidency Banks. These three banks were amalgamated in 1920 and Imperial Bank of India was established which started as private shareholders banks, mostly Europeans shareholders. In 1865 Allahabad Bank was established and first time exclusively by Indians, Punjab National Bank Ltd. was set up in 1894 with headquarters at Lahore. Between 1906 and 1913, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Mysore were set up. Reserve Bank of India came in 1935. During the first phase the growth was very slow and banks also experienced periodic failures between 1913 and 1948. There were approximately 1100 banks, mostly small. To streamline the functioning and activities of commercial banks, the Government of India came up with The Banking Companies Act, 1949 which was later changed to Banking Regulation Act 1949 as per amending Act of 1965 (Act No. 23 of 1965). Reserve Bank of India was vested with extensive

powers for the supervision of banking in india as the Central Banking Authority. During those days public has lesser confidence in the banks. As an aftermath deposit mobilisation was slow. Abreast of it the savings bank facility provided by the Postal department was comparatively safer. Moreover, funds were largely given to traders. Phase II Government took major steps in this Indian Banking Sector Reform after independence. In 1955, it nationalised Imperial Bank of India with extensive banking facilities on a large scale specially in rural and semi-urban areas. It formed State Bank of india to act as the principal agent of RBI and to handle banking transactions of the Union and State Governments all over the country. Seven banks forming subsidiary of State Bank of India was nationalised in 1960 on 19th July, 1969, major process of nationalisation was carried out. It was the effort of the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 14 major commercial banks in the country was nationalised. Second phase of nationalisation Indian Banking Sector Reform was carried out in 1980 with seven more banks. This step brought 80% of the banking segment in India under Government ownership. The following are the steps taken by the Government of India to Regulate Banking Institutions in the Country:

1949 : Enactment of Banking Regulation Act. 1955 : Nationalisation of State Bank of India. 1959 : Nationalisation of SBI subsidiaries. 1961 : Insurance cover extended to deposits. 1969 : Nationalisation of 14 major banks. 1971 : Creation of credit guarantee corporation. 1975 : Creation of regional rural banks. 1980 : Nationalisation of seven banks with deposits over 200 crore.

After the nationalisation of banks, the branches of the public sector bank India rose to approximately 800% in deposits and advances took a huge jump by 11,000%. Banking in the sunshine of Government ownership gave the public implicit faith and immense confidence about the sustainability of these institutions. Phase III This phase has introduced many more products and facilities in the banking sector in its reforms measure. In 1991, under the chairmanship of M Narasimham, a committee was set up by his name which worked for the liberalisation of banking practices.

The country is flooded with foreign banks and their ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service to customers. Phone banking and net banking is introduced. The entire system became more convenient and swift. Time is given more importance than money. The financial system of India has shown a great deal of resilience. It is sheltered from any crisis triggered by any external macroeconomics shock as other East Asian Countries suffered. This is all due to a flexible exchange rate regime, the foreign reserves are high, the capital account is not yet fully convertible, and banks and their customers have limited foreign exchange exposure.

Functions of commercial banks

1)Accepting Deposits: The most significant and traditional function of commercial bank is accepting deposit from the public.In case of current deposits,no interest is paid by the bank but the depositor can withdraw his money anytime he likes without notice.Savings deposits are paid a small rate of interest and the bank imposes certain restrictions on the withdrawal of money.Fixed deposits are made by the persons who have idle money with them.They can withdraw their money only after the expiry of th fixed period of time.These deposits carry the highest rate of interest that depends on the period for which the money is deposited. 2)Providing Loans Banks provide loans against approved securities to the public and companies.Loans can be granted in the form of cash credit,short term loan,overdraft,discounting of bills and demand loans.Under cash credit system,borrower is sanctioned a credit limit up to which he can borrow from the bank.The interest is calculated on the amount actually withdrawn.Short term loans are given as personal loans against some security.The interest is payable on the entire sum of loan granted..In case of Overdraft,a person is allowed to overdraw his current account to a certain limit as specified by the bank.The interest is paid on the amount outstanding against his balance and not on the amount of loan sanctioned.A bill of exchange is drawn by a creditor on the debtor specifying the amount of debt and the date on which it is payable.Before the maturity of the bill,a debtor can get it discounted from the bank paying a very small interest.

3)Credit Creation A bank can be called the factory or the manufacturer of the credit.In the process of accepting and depositing money,banks multiply credit in the economy.It depends on cash reserve ratio. 4)Transfer of funds Commercial banks can transfer funds of a customer to other customer's accounts in the same or the different bank through cheques, drafts, mail transfers, telegraphic transfers etc. 5)Agency Functions i)Collection of bills, drafts etc. ii)Collection of interest, dividends etc. on the behalf of the customers. iii)Payment of interests, installment of loans, insurance premium etc. iv)Purchase and sale of securities. v)Banks also executes the will of their customers after their deaths. 6)Other Functions i)Payment of credit letters and travellers cheques, gift cheques, bank draft etc. ii)Banks also provide locker services for the valuable securities of their customers and charges a very nominal fee. iii)Banks also deals in foreign exchange.Such banks are usually called foreign exchange banks. There are various other functions that the bank performs but they cannot be cited here as some of the functions differ from bank to bank.For example,some banks provide the facility of credit cards and online banking whereas many other do not.These are some of the modern functions of the bank.Commercial banks are the backbone of any economy, be it India or America.Industries and agriculture flourish due to these banks.These banks mobilize the savings of people that results in capital formation.

Structure of Indian Money Market - Chart

The entire money market in India can be divided into two parts. They are organised money market and the unorganized money market. The unorganised money market can also be known as an unauthorized money market. Both of these components comprise several constituents. The following chart will help you in understanding the organisational structure of the Indian money market.

Components, SubMarkets of Indian Money Market

After studying above organisational chart of the Indian money market it is necessary to understand various components or sub markets within it. They are explained below.
1. Call Money Market : It an important sub market of the Indian money market. It is also known as money at call and money at short notice. It is also called inter bank loan market. In this market money is demanded for extremely short period. The duration of such transactions is from few hours to 14 days. It is basically located in the industrial and commercial locations such as Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, etc. These transactions help stock brokers and dealers to fulfill their financial requirements. The rate at which money is made available is called as a call rate. Thus rate is fixed by the market forces such as the demand for and supply of money. 2. Commercial Bill Market : It is a market for the short term, self liquidating and negotiable money market instrument. Commercial bills are used to finance the movement and storage of agriculture and industrial goods in domestic and foreign markets. The commercial bill market in India is still underdeveloped.

3. Treasury Bill Market : This is a market for sale and purchase of short term government securities. These securities are called as Treasury Bills which are promissory notes or financial bills issued by the RBI on behalf of the Government of India. There are two types of treasury bills. (i) Ordinary or Regular Treasury Bills and (ii) Ad Hoc Treasury Bills. The maturity period of these securities range from as low as 14 days to as high as 364 days. They have become very popular recently due to high level of safety involved in them. 4. Market for Certificate of Deposits (CDs) : It is again an important segment of the Indian money market. The certificate of deposits is issued by the commercial banks. They are worth the value of Rs. 25 lakh and in multiple of Rs. 25 lakh. The minimum subscription of CD should be worth Rs. 1 Crore. The maturity period of CD is as low as 3 months and as high as 1 year. These are the transferable investment instrument in a money market. The government initiated a market of CDs in order to widen the range of instruments in the money market and to provide a higher flexibility to investors for investing their short term money. 5. Market for Commercial Papers (CPs) : It is the market where the commercial papers are traded. Commercial paper (CP) is an investment instrument which can be issued by a listed company having working capital more than or equal to Rs. 5 cr. The CPs can be issued in multiples of Rs. 25 lakhs. However the minimum subscription should at least be Rs. 1 cr. The maturity period for the CP is minimum of 3 months and maximum 6 months. This was introcuced by the government in 1990. 6. Short Term Loan Market : It is a market where the short term loan requirements of corporates are met by the Commercial banks. Banks provide short term loans to corporates in the form of cash credit or in the form of overdraft. Cash credit is given to industrialists and overdraft is given to businessmen.

Indian Money Market has the following major characteristics/draw backs:1. Dichotomic Structure : It is a significant aspect of the Indian money market. It has a

simultaneous existence of both the organized money market as well as unorganised money markets. The organized money market consists of RBI, all scheduled commercial banks and other recognized financial institutions. However, the unorganized part of the money market comprises domestic money lenders, indigenous bankers, trader, etc. The organized money market is in full control of the RBI. However, unorganized money market remains outside the RBI control. Thus both the organized and unorganized money market exists simultaneously. 2. Seasonality : The demand for money in Indian money market is of a seasonal nature. India being an agriculture predominant economy, the demand for money is generated from the agricultural operations. During the busy season i.e. between October and April more agricultural activities takes place leading to a higher demand for money.

3. Multiplicity of Interest Rates : In Indian money market, we have many levels of interest

4.

5.

6.

7.

rates. They differ from bank to bank from period to period and even from borrower to borrower. Again in both organized and unorganized segment the interest rates differs. Thus there is an existence of many rates of interest in the Indian money market. Lack of Organized Bill Market : In the Indian money market, the organized bill market is not prevalent. Though the RBI tried to introduce the Bill Market Scheme (1952) and then New Bill Market Scheme in 1970, still there is no properly organized bill market in India. Absence of Integration : This is a very important feature of the Indian money market. At the same time it is divided among several segments or sections which are loosely connected with each other. There is a lack of coordination among these different components of the money market. RBI has full control over the components in the organized segment but it cannot control the components in the unorganized segment. High Volatility in Call Money Market : The call money market is a market for very short term money. Here money is demanded at the call rate. Basically the demand for call money comes from the commercial banks. Institutions such as the GIC, LIC, etc suffer huge fluctuations and thus it has remained highly volatile. Limited Instruments : It is in fact a defect of the Indian money market. In our money market the supply of various instruments such as the Treasury Bills, Commercial Bills, Certificate of Deposits, Commercial Papers, etc. is very limited. In order to meet the varied requirements of borrowers and lenders, It is necessary to develop numerous instruments.