Until a couple of years ago Vinod Jain, a familiar name in the chartered accountants community, worked out of a small office in Nehru Place, a congested commercial complex in South Delhi, now known more for assembled computers and pirated software. But, that was when the INMACS office had not come up in Gurgaon. 
 

The CA — a former member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India Council, the apex decision making body for the profession — has created a stir in even in the auditor community by filing a proposal with the Reserve Bank of India to set up a bank. All these years, Jain's INMACS that has over 100 employees was known for consulting and auditing, including several for the banking sector. In addition, it has an arm providing capital market services. 

The sudden surge in interest even hit the INMACS website, with hackers taking charge. Jain, the company's chairman, did not respond to queries but sources familiar with the development told TOI that he may rope in a few small investors but will largely depend on its own resources to run the proposed bank, largely to cater to the "have nots". 

Like INMACS, there is also Smart Global Ventures Pvt Ltd, an unheard entity. They are among the 26 players, who have sought banking licences from RBI. The list of applicants includes the who's who of India Inc. Documents accessed by TOI shows that B K Modi's Spice Investments & Finance Advisors Pvt Ltd, holds all but one of the 10,000 shares in Smart Global that has a paid up capital base of Rs 1 lakh. The company's memorandum of association, signed on June 21 shows the company can undertake every possible business that you can think of. Modi did not respond to a text message seeking his comment. 

For the past several years, Modi has been focusing more on Buddhism and films after his family's infamous run-in with banks and financial institutions two decades ago. With the Modi clan unable to resolve the shareholding tangle, several group companies went sick, prompting lenders to stop funding and launch scrutiny and asset sale under what was then referred to as "group approach". Under pressure, B K Modi then sold his holdings in several companies with Modi Rubber being among the last few. (Times of India)