Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)

EXIM Bank is India’s specialised bank for foreign trade finance. It was set up under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981. Its head office is in Mumbai.

What does the Act say about its owner?

• The Act makes the bank a body corporate.
• Section 4 says the Central Government must subscribe all of the issued capital.
• So the Government of India owns EXIM Bank.
• The Act sets the head office at Bombay, now Mumbai, unless the Government notifies another place.

Where is the office?

EXIM Bank lists its head office at the World Trade Centre Complex, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai. Banks often move offices, so check the bank’s own site before quoting an address.

EXIM Bank was not a quick idea. The proposal took years to settle.

What are the key steps?

• 1978-79: the Finance Ministry held meetings on setting up an Export-Import Bank.
• The meetings agreed that a separate institution was justified.
• 18 June 1980: R. Venkataraman announced the plan in his Budget speech.
• September 1981: Parliament passed the Act.
• March 1982: the Bank began operations.

What is the exam trap?

The Act is from 1981, but the Bank began work in 1982. A question may offer both years. Link 1981 with the Act and 1982 with the institution.

In January 2019 the Union Cabinet gave EXIM Bank more capital. The aim was to let it lend more.

What did the Cabinet approve?

• Recapitalisation bonds of ₹6,000 crore.
• The money came in two tranches: ₹4,500 crore in 2018-19 and ₹1,500 crore in 2019-20.
• The authorised capital rose from ₹10,000 crore to ₹20,000 crore.

Why was ₹10,000 crore the old limit?

The 1981 Act set the authorised capital at ₹10,000 crore. It also lets the Government raise the figure by notification. The 2019 decision used that power.

What is the exam trap?

Do not mix authorised capital with the money actually put in. The ₹6,000 crore was the new money. The ₹20,000 crore was the new ceiling.

EXIM Bank also lends to buyers outside India. The tool is called a Line of Credit, or LoC.

Who gets a Line of Credit?

• Overseas banks.
• Regional development banks.
• Sovereign governments.
• The credit is on deferred terms, so the buyer pays later.

What is the Indian-content rule?

At least 75% of the contract value must be sourced from India. So the credit helps Indian sellers as well as the foreign buyer.

Who else is involved?

The Ministry of External Affairs has a division that deals with LoCs routed through EXIM Bank. The scheme called IDEAS was formulated in 2003-04.

What is a recent example?

In March 2024 EXIM Bank extended a Line of Credit of $23.37 million to Guyana. It was for two aircraft. Business Standard reported that India then had 292 such credit lines covering 62 countries.

It is a lender. The insurer is a different body, ECGC Ltd.

How do they compare?

What is NEIA?

• The National Export Insurance Account was set up in 2006.
• It backs medium- and long-term and project exports that ECGC cannot cover alone.
• ECGC administers it.
• 75% of its liability cap is reserved for the Buyer’s Credit-NEIA scheme.
• The Chairman and Managing Director of EXIM Bank sits on its Committee of Directions.

What is the memory hook?

Think “EXIM lends, ECGC covers”. A question that calls EXIM Bank an insurer is wrong.

It is EXIM Bank’s help for small exporters with promise. The name means “rising stars”.

What does it offer?

• Equity.
• Debt.
• Technical help.
• The target is export-oriented small and mid-sized firms.

Who launched the fund?

The fund was launched in August 2021. A PTI report said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would launch it in Lucknow on 21 August. EXIM Bank and SIDBI sponsored it together. Read the SIDBI lesson for the other sponsor.

What is the exam trap?

The fund is not a subsidy or a tariff scheme. It invests in firms.

These are dated snapshots. Treat each as true on its date only.

What are the snapshots?

• Target: on 18 May 2026 the bank said it aimed for 10% loan-book growth in 2026-27.
• Last year: growth was 12% in 2025-26, and currency moves helped lift that number.
• Currency mix: 58% of the loan book was in foreign currency, and the rest in rupees.
• Leadership: Harsha Bangari is named as Managing Director and CEO in the May 2026 report.

How should you quote them?

Always give the date. Targets and office-holders change. Check the bank’s site for the latest.