I’ve previously written about the Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL). To repeat,

CIBIL or Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited is India’s first credit information bureau and is a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers. CIBIL provides this information to its Members (i.e. banks and other financial institutions) in the form of credit information reports.

But what about you? Can you access your own credit report? According to this recent circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India,

• Any person, who applies for grant or sanction of credit facility, from any credit institution, may request such institution to furnish him a copy of the credit information obtained by such institution from the credit information company.

• Every credit institution shall on receipt of such requests, furnish to such person a copy of the credit information subject to payment of charges.

• A maximum fees of Rs 50 can be charged for this purpose.

It’s certainly a step in the right direction — and good for you if you’ve been thinking of availing credit, but what about those who’re not inclined to avail credit right away. How then does one access one’s credit information report? What about those who’ve already availed credit facility? Surely, they’d like to know their credit scores too. And what exactly does credit facility include? Is credit cards, loans (any type), and overdrafts an exhaustive list?

Raises more questions than it answers. What do you think?

Awareness Fridays is my initiative to spread awareness on topics relevant to personal finance — every Friday. I urge you to take some time off and absorb this information — it’s pretty useful. And, as always, do spread the word if you find this useful.