Indian economy · Reference
India's economic acts, in order
Twenty-three acts that shaped India's economy, from the RBI Act of 1934 to GST in 2017. The papers ask two things: put them in order, and match each to what it did. Read the table, switch on self-test to hide the years, then run the drill.
Reference
The acts, in order
| Year | Act | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1934RBI began 1 April 1935 | RBI ActReserve Bank of India Act, 1934 | Created the central bank; CRR and the RBI's monetary powers rest on it.Amended in 2016 for inflation targeting and the MPC |
| 1948 | Factories ActFactories Act, 1948 | Health, safety, welfare and working hours of factory workers.Subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 |
| 1949 | BR ActBanking Regulation Act, 1949 | Licensing, supervision and management of banks; Section 24 is the legal basis of SLR.Passed as the Banking Companies Act; renamed in 1966 |
| 1951 | IDRAIndustries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 | Industrial licensing: the legal backbone of the licence raj.Licensing largely abolished by the 1991 Industrial Policy |
| 1956 | Companies Act 1956Companies Act, 1956 | Incorporation, governance and winding up of companies.Replaced by the Companies Act, 2013 |
| 19691 June 1970 | MRTP ActMonopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 | Curbed concentration of economic power and restrictive trade practices; followed the Monopolies Inquiry Commission (1965).Replaced by the Competition Act, 2002Passed 1969, in force 1970: some keys use 1970. |
| 1970 | Bank nationalisation ActBanking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 | Gave statutory form to the nationalisation of 14 banks on 19 July 1969 (done first by ordinance).Six more banks nationalised in 1980 |
| 19731 January 1974 | FERAForeign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 | Strict control of foreign exchange; violations were criminal offences.Replaced by FEMA, 1999 |
| 1976 | RRB ActRegional Rural Banks Act, 1976 | Statutory base for Regional Rural Banks, first set up by ordinance on 2 October 1975.Followed the Narasimham Working Group (1975) |
| 1986 | Consumer Protection ActConsumer Protection Act, 1986 | Consumer rights and a three-tier system of consumer courts.Replaced by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 |
| 1992 | SEBI ActSecurities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 | Made SEBI, set up in April 1988, a statutory regulator of the securities market.SEBI: set up 1988, statutory 1992. |
| 1999IRDA set up April 2000 | IRDA ActInsurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 | Opened insurance to private players and created the insurance regulator.Followed the Malhotra Committee (1994) |
| 19991 June 2000 | FEMAForeign Exchange Management Act, 1999 | Replaced control with management: violations became civil, not criminal.Replaced FERA, 1973 |
| 2002CCI set up October 2003 | Competition ActCompetition Act, 2002 | Prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance; regulates mergers. Created the Competition Commission of India.Replaced MRTP; based on the Raghavan Committee |
| 2002 | SARFAESISecuritisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 | Lets banks seize and sell secured assets of defaulters without going to court; enables asset reconstruction companies. |
| 20021 July 2005 | PMLAPrevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 | Criminalises money laundering and provides for attaching its proceeds. |
| 20035 July 2004 | FRBM ActFiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 | Fiscal rules for the Centre: eliminate the revenue deficit and bring the fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP.Main aim: eliminate the revenue deficit; FD target 3%. |
| 2005From 2 February 2006 | MGNREGAMahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 | A legal guarantee of 100 days of wage work a year to every rural household that asks, with an unemployment allowance if work is not given.Per household, on demand, 100 days. |
| 2013 | NFSANational Food Security Act, 2013 | Subsidised foodgrains for up to 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population.75% rural, 50% urban. |
| 2013 | Companies Act 2013Companies Act, 2013 | Replaced the 1956 Act; made CSR spending of 2% of average net profit mandatory for large companies. |
| 2016 | IBCInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 | Time-bound insolvency resolution for companies and individuals; created the IBBI (1 October 2016). |
| 2016 | Inflation targetingRBI Act amendment (Finance Act, 2016) | Put flexible inflation targeting in law and created the six-member Monetary Policy Committee. Target set at 4% CPI ± 2%.On the Urjit Patel Committee's recommendation |
| 2017GST from 1 July 2017 | GST ActsCentral Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 | Brought in GST, after the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 gave the Centre and states concurrent power to tax goods and services. |
Replacements
Old act, new act: the replacements
MRTP Act 1969Competition Act 2002
From restricting the size of firms to policing their conduct: cartels, abuse of dominance, mergers.
FERA 1973FEMA 1999
From 'regulation' to 'management': forex offences became civil, not criminal.
Companies Act 1956Companies Act 2013
A modern company law, with mandatory CSR for large companies.
Consumer Protection Act 1986Consumer Protection Act 2019
Updated for e-commerce, with a central consumer protection authority.
The 1991 turn in one line
Before 1991 the acts controlled (IDRA licences, MRTP size limits, FERA). After 1991 they regulate markets (SEBI, IRDA, Competition), manage (FEMA), resolve (SARFAESI, IBC) and bind the government itself (FRBM, inflation targeting).
Traps
Passed, or in force?
| Act | Passed | In force / body set up |
|---|---|---|
| RBI Act | 1934 | RBI began 1 April 1935 |
| MRTP Act | 1969 | 1 June 1970 |
| FERA | 1973 | 1 January 1974 |
| IRDA Act | 1999 | IRDA set up April 2000 |
| FEMA | 1999 | 1 June 2000 |
| Competition Act | 2002 | CCI set up October 2003 |
| PMLA | 2002 | 1 July 2005 |
| FRBM Act | 2003 | 5 July 2004 |
| MGNREGA | 2005 | From 2 February 2006 |
| GST Acts | 2017 | GST from 1 July 2017 |
Watch out for
The mistakes examiners are fishing for
- MRTP: 1969 or 1970? Passed in 1969, in force from 1 June 1970. CUET 2022 keyed it as 1970; most lists use 1969. Read the question for “enacted” or “came into force”.
- Body vs act. SEBI was set up in 1988 and made statutory by the SEBI Act, 1992; the IRDA Act is 1999, the authority 2000.
- Bank nationalisation is 1969 (ordinance, 19 July 1969); the Act that gave it statutory form is 1970.
- GST: amendment 2016, rollout 2017. The 101st Amendment is 2016; the CGST Act and the rollout on 1 July 2017.
- Three acts of 2002. The Competition Act, SARFAESI and PMLA share a year; papers tell them apart only by in-force dates (CCI 2003, PMLA 2005).
Interactive
Chronology drill
Chronology drill
Put these acts in order
Tap the items in order, earliest first. Tap again to undo.
No sets tried yet
Practice
Check yourself
Facts and order
1Arrange by year of enactment, latest first: A. MRTP Act B. FERA C. FEMA D. Competition Act
2Which act replaced 'regulation' of foreign exchange with 'management', making violations civil offences?
3The main objective of the FRBM Act, 2003 was to:
4Match the regulator to the year it became statutory: RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, IBBI
5Under the NFSA, 2013, the coverage is up to:
6The Competition Act, 2002 was based on the recommendations of the:
7Arrange by the order in which they came into force: I. Competition Act II. FEMA III. Consumer Protection Act IV. Factories Act
Try it on real questions
Fifteen past-paper questions on economic acts
From UGC NET, CUET-PG, IIT JAM, JNU and the University of Hyderabad: chronology, which act did what, and the numbers inside the acts (FRBM's 3%, NFSA's 75/50, MGNREGA's 100 days, CSR's 2%).
These are questions from the TestStop bank. A free account answers 10 a day, each with its worked solution; All-Access opens every set with no daily limit.
Read next
All resources →Indian economyWhen India's institutions were set upBanks, DFIs, regulators, markets, planning bodies and international institutions on one timeline, from the BSE in 1875 to the MPC in 2016, with a chronology drill.Indian economyBanking and tax committees of IndiaNarasimham I (1991) and II (1998) in depth, Chelliah and Kelkar on tax, and every other committee the papers ask about on one interactive timeline.Indian economyIndia's key numbers, 2026RBI's rate corridor, CRR and SLR; GDP with nominal and PPP ranks; latest quarter's growth; output vs jobs by sector; Budget 2026–27 deficits, top items and the rupee chart. Every figure dated and sourced.