Q.Institutional financing has gained importance in recent years. In a scrapbook paste detailed information about various financial institutions that provide financial assistance to Indian companies.

This is a research activity built around India's financial institutions, which are government-established bodies that supply industry with long-term finance and other support.

Understand what you are collecting: Financial institutions are set up by the central and state governments to provide finance to business organisations. They supply both owned and loan capital for long- and medium-term needs, supplement commercial banks, and — because they aim to promote industrial development — are called "development banks." Besides money, they conduct market surveys and give technical and managerial assistance. They are suitable when large funds are needed for a long duration for expansion, reorganisation and modernisation.

Institutions to include (a model list)

• Domestic development banks: IFCI (Industrial Finance Corporation of India), IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India), ICICI (a pioneer of Indian leasing), SIDBI (small-industry finance), and State Financial Corporations.
• Export/foreign-trade finance: EXIM Bank (Export-Import Bank of India).
• International agencies / development banks: the International Finance Corporation (IFC), EXIM Bank, and the Asian Development Bank — bodies that provide long- and medium-term loans and grants to promote development.

What to record for each (paste under each heading)

• Objective / purpose — what industrial or trade need it was created to serve.
• Type of assistance — long-term loans, owned capital, guarantees, foreign-currency loans, etc.
• Extra (non-financial) services — market surveys, technical assistance, managerial and consultancy services.
• Notable beneficiaries or projects — real examples of companies or sectors financed.

Where to source the material: the institutions' annual reports and official websites, business newspapers and magazines, and government/RBI publications.

Point to highlight: a loan from such an institution raises the borrower's goodwill in the capital market (making it easier to raise funds elsewhere), is repayable in easy instalments, and is available even during a depression — which is exactly why institutional financing has gained importance.