The Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) is a specialized financial institution and a statutory corporation established by the Government of India under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981 (Act No. 28 of 1981). The Act was assented to on September 11, 1981, and the bank commenced operations in 1982. It was created to function as the principal financial institution for coordinating the working of institutions engaged in financing export and import of goods and services, thereby promoting India's international trade. The bank took over the operations of the International Finance Wing of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI).
The mechanism of the bank is governed by the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981, which establishes it as a body corporate under Section 3. Its functions, detailed in Section 4 of the Act, empower it to provide financial assistance, including loans, guarantees, and equity participation, to exporters and importers. A key function is extending Lines of Credit (LoCs) to foreign financial institutions, sovereign governments, and other entities abroad to facilitate the purchase of Indian goods and services on deferred credit terms. The bank also provides advisory services and supports project exports, which have been enhanced by the introduction of the Buyer Credit-National Export Insurance Account (BC-NEIA) programme.
EXIM Bank is wholly owned by the Government of India and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It connects to the RBI through mechanisms like the subsidized hedging facility, which it uses for overseas fundraising. The bank's policy role as the principal financial institution for international trade links it closely to the sovereign, which provides substantial capital injections. Recent activity includes the bank's plan to raise $300 million through dollar bonds under the RBI's hedging facility. The core mandate of promoting and financing foreign trade, as laid out in the 1981 Act, remains the same.