law: Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005 
  2. Definitions.-
  In this Act, unless
  
  the context otherwise requires,- 
  a.     
  
    "board"
  
  means the Board of directors of a credit information company;
  b.    
  
    "borrower"
  
  means any person who has been granted loan or any other credit facility by a
  
  credit institution and includes a client of a credit institution;
  c.     
  
    "client"
  
  includes- 
               
  
   i.        
  
    a
  
  guarantor or a person who proposes to give guarantee or security for a borrower
  
  of a credit institution; or
  a
  
  person- 
  A.     who has obtained or
  
  seeks to obtain financial assistance from a credit institution, by way of
  
  loans, advances, hire purchase, leasing facility, letter of credit, guarantee
  
  facility, venture capital assistance or by way of credit cards or in any other
  
  form or manner;
  B.     who has raised or
  
  seeks to raise money by issue of security as defined in clause (h) of section 2
  
  of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956), or by issue of
  
  commercial paper, depository receipt or any other instrument;
  C.     whose financial
  
  standing has been assessed or is proposed to be assessed by a credit
  
  institution or any other person or institution as may, by notification, be
  
  directed by the Reserve Bank;
  d.    
  
    "credit
  
  information" means any information relating to- 
               
  
   i.        
  
    the
  
  amounts and the nature of loans or advances, amounts outstanding under credit
  
  cards and other credit facilities granted or to be granted, by a credit
  
  institution to any borrower;
  the
  
  nature of security taken or proposed to be taken by a credit institution from
  
  any borrower for credit facilities granted or proposed to be granted to him;
             
  
   iii.        
  
    the
  
  guarantee furnished or any other non-fund based facility granted or proposed to
  
  be granted by a credit institution for any of its borrowers;
             
  
   iv.        
  
    the
  
  credit worthiness of any borrower of a credit institution;
              
  
   v.        
  
    any
  
  other matter which the Reserve Bank may, consider necessary for inclusion in
  
  the credit information to be collected and maintained by credit information
  
  companies, and, specify, by notification, in this behalf;
  e.     
  
    "credit
  
  information company" means a company formed and registered under the
  
  Companies Act, 1956 and which has been granted a certificate of registration
  
  under sub-section (2) of section 5;
  f.     
  
    "credit
  
  institution" means a banking company and includes- 
               
  
   i.        
  
    a
  
  corresponding new bank, the State Bank of India, a subsidiary bank, a
  
  co-operative bank, the National Bank and regional rural bank;
  a
  
  non-banking financial company as defined under clause (f) of section 45-I of
  
  the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934;
             
  
   iii.        
  
    a
  
  public financial institution referred to in section 4A of the Companies Act,
  
  1956;
             
  
   iv.        
  
    the
  
  financial corporation established by a State under section 3 of the State
  
  Financial Corporation Act, 1951;
              
  
   v.        
  
    the
  
  housing finance institution referred to in clause (d) of section 2 of the
  
  National Housing Bank Act, 1987;
             
  
   vi.        
  
    the
  
  companies engaged in the business of credit cards and other similar cards and
  
  companies dealing with distribution of credit in any other manner;
            
  
   vii.        
  
    any
  
  other institution which the Reserve Bank may specify, from time to time, for
  
  the purposes of this clause;
  g.    
  
    "credit
  
  scoring" means a system which enables a credit institution to assess the
  
  credit worthiness and capacity of a borrower to repay his loan and advances and
  
  discharge his other obligations in respect of credit facility availed or to be
  
  availed by him;
  h.     
  
    "notification"
  
  means a notification published in the Official Gazette of India;
  i.      
  
    "prescribed"
  
  means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
  j.      
  
    "regulations"
  
  means regulations made by the Reserve Bank under this Act;
  k.     
  
    "Reserve
  
  Bank" means the Reserve Bank of India constituted under section 3 of the
  
  Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
  l.      
  
    "specified
  
  user" means any credit institution, credit information company being a
  
  member under sub-section (3) of section 15, and includes such other person or
  
  institution as may be specified by regulations made, from time to time, by the
  
  Reserve Bank for the purpose of obtaining credit information from a credit
  
  information company;
  m.   
  
    words
  
  and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the
  
  Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) or the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
  
  (10 of 1949) or the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) shall have the meanings
  
  respectively assigned to them in those Acts.