Indian Banking Industry and Information Technology

The process of economic liberalization in India, initiatives in 1991, has impacted on the banking industry of the country significantly. Economic reforms over the last one and a half decades have radically transformed the operational environment of the banking sector. The Information Technology (IT) revolution has not only changed the way banking business is done but also widened the range of products offered by the banks. The nationalized banks, with their social obligations, were having a large number of branches operating manually and a huge customer base. However, with the coming of new private/foreign banks with their attractive products and service packages, the customers now have several options. The new services/products offered by these banks are fast luring the customers away from the nationalized banks which are slow to adjust to new environment. The growing competition among the Banks is forcing the nationalized banks to provide prompt and reliable customer service and offer a variety of hi-tech banking products/services. In the background of these recent developments, this book performance of a cross-section of banks in India. It offers various guidelines for the banking industry to improve its performance in the changed scenario characterized by openness, competition and prudence.