Indian banking -past, present & new road map for future

Indian Banking Industry is the oldest and fast growing industry in the world. The position at which Indian banking industry stands today, is not achieved immediately. It has gone through many crucial phases. The present paper studies these phases by diving the study into two parts; Past & the present of Indian banking industry. The past of this industry covers 50 years. These 50 years are further divided into three time period groups; 1948 to 1968, 1969 to 1991 & 1992 to 1998 to simplify the study. The first period (1948–1968) studies condition of Indian banks before & after independence. The second period (1969–1991) is the eye-witness of nationalization of 19 Indian banks. It studies the impact of nationalization on branch expansion, resource mobilization & credit operations of the banks. All these parameters increased appreciably after nationalization & we can justifiably conclude that there was complete transformation from class banking to mass banking during the period. The last period (1991–98) also called the reform period, throws light on banking reforms & major components of reforms. It also throws light on Indian banks whose branches are working in some foreign countries. The second phase (1999–2008) also called the current phase has much importance. During this period, IT was introduced in Indian banks. It has completely changed the face of Indian banking industry & productivity and profitability of the industry increased. On the basis of the study of past and present of Indian banking industry, the paper predicts about the future of Indian banking industry which covers issues like Human Resource Development (HRD), Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and reduction in NPAs.