IslamicFinance.de

The Reserve Bank of India’s proposal to tap Islamic banking to provide banking services to Muslims - who are averse to a interest-based model, has raised hope of this system becoming a reality in the near distant future.

According to Dr D.K. Batra, marketing professor, IMI, New Delhi, a large section of Muslims in India did not access banking services on religious grounds due to the element of interest which is prohibited in Islam. So it is interesting that “RBI will explore the opportunity to offer interest-free banking in consultation with the government to open Islamic banks,” he said. This requires a law to be passed, and therefore legislative support, since it concerns net interest margin for banks. The Islamic finance has not grown fast enough as the concept faced opposition from political parties, said Dr Batra.