RAS question
The EXIM Bank of India provides:
Correct answer: (C) Finance for India's foreign trade and investment.
The EXIM Bank of India provides finance for India's foreign trade and investment.
Explanation
Export-Import Bank of India, established in 1982, is the apex financial institution for financing, facilitating and promoting India's foreign trade and investment. The Department of Financial Services describes Exim Bank as a Government of India institution set up under the Export-Import Bank Act, 1981 as a manager of export credit. Its role covers export-linked activities such as export production, export marketing, pre-shipment and post-shipment finance, along with foreign investment. The same official page also notes that Exim Bank extends Lines of Credit to foreign financial institutions, regional development banks, sovereign governments and other overseas entities for purchases of projects, equipment, goods and services from India. That mandate makes foreign trade and investment finance the correct choice.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Housing loans are outside EXIM Bank's export-import finance mandate; the question data assigns that function to NHB.
- (B) Retail banking services do not fit EXIM Bank because it is a specialised export-credit institution, not a bank for routine consumer accounts.
- (D) Agricultural loans are not EXIM Bank's role; the question data links agricultural finance to NABARD, while EXIM Bank is tied to foreign trade and investment.
Concept
This tests specialised financial institutions in the Indian Economy syllabus, especially matching each institution to its sectoral mandate. It recurs in RAS because names such as EXIM Bank, NHB and NABARD are easy to confuse unless their functions are clear.