Which of the following is NOT a function of a development finance institution such as NABARD or SIDBI?

The correct answer is C, 1982. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development was set up on 12 July 1982 under the NABARD Act, 1981, as the apex institution for credit to agriculture and rural development, taking over the work of the Reserve Bank's Agricultural Credit Department and Rural Planning and Credit Cell and of the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation. Option A is wrong because 1975 is the year the regional rural banks were set up, under an ordinance later replaced by the RRB Act of 1976. Option B is wrong because 1979 is the year the Reserve Bank appointed the CRAFICARD committee under B. Sivaraman, whose recommendation led to NABARD; the committee is not the bank. Option D is wrong because 1990 is the year SIDBI began operations, under its Act of 1989.

The correct answer is B, the Sivaraman Committee. The Reserve Bank appointed the Committee to Review the Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development, known as CRAFICARD, in 1979 under the chairmanship of B. Sivaraman, and its recommendation led to the NABARD Act, 1981 and the creation of NABARD in 1982. Option A is wrong because the Narasimham Committee reported on banking sector reforms in 1991 and 1998 and is associated with prudential norms, capital adequacy and the reduction of the statutory liquidity ratio. Option C is wrong because the Nachiket Mor Committee of 2013 and 2014 proposed comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low-income households and led to payments banks and small finance banks. Option D is wrong because the Rangarajan Committee is remembered for its work on financial inclusion and on poverty estimation.

The correct answer is D, Lucknow. SIDBI has its head office at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, which makes it the one major apex financial institution of the country not headquartered in a metropolitan financial centre, and that is exactly why the question is asked. Option A is wrong because Mumbai is the head office of the Reserve Bank, of NABARD, of the EXIM Bank, of IDBI and of NaBFID. Option B is wrong because New Delhi is the head office of IFCI and of the National Housing Bank. Option C is wrong because Hyderabad has no apex development bank, although it hosts other national institutions. Keep the three together while revising: NABARD and the EXIM Bank in Mumbai, the National Housing Bank in New Delhi and SIDBI in Lucknow. SIDBI also runs the Udyami Mitra portal and acts as the manager of the government's fund of funds for start-ups.

The correct answer is A, IFCI. The Industrial Finance Corporation of India was set up in 1948 under the Industrial Finance Corporation Act of that year to provide medium and long-term finance to industry, which makes it the first development finance institution in the country; it was converted into a company in 1993. Option B is wrong because IDBI came much later, in 1964, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank, and was delinked from it in 1976. Option C is wrong because ICICI was set up in 1955 as a private sector institution with the support of the World Bank, and it merged into ICICI Bank in 2002 in what is called a reverse merger. Option D is wrong because SIDBI began only in 1990 and is confined to micro, small and medium enterprises.

The correct answer is B, 1982. The EXIM Bank was established on 1 January 1982 under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981, is wholly owned by the Government of India, has its head office in Mumbai, and finances and promotes India's foreign trade, including the lines of credit the government extends to other countries. Option A is wrong because 1957 is the year the Export Risk Insurance Corporation was set up, the body renamed ECGC in 1983, which insures export credit rather than providing it. Option C is wrong because 1990 is the year SIDBI began work. Option D is wrong because 2006 saw the creation of the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited and of the National Export Insurance Account trust, which the EXIM Bank administers. Note that NABARD and the EXIM Bank share the year 1982.