What does IDBI in IDBI Bank stand for?

Concept

An acronym for a financial institution is read by expanding each letter to the word in its official, charter-registered name, not to a plausible-sounding alternative. For IDBI, the letters map to its statutory title rather than to functions it may also perform.

Application

IDBI expands to Industrial Development Bank of India. It was set up in 1964 under a dedicated Act to channel long-term finance and credit for the country's industrial growth, so all four letters are fixed: I = Industrial, D = Development, B = Bank, I = India.

Why the look-alikes do not fit

• "Investment Development Board of India": substitutes "Investment" for "Industrial" and "Board" for "Bank"; the institution is a chartered bank, not a board.

• "Infrastructure and Development Board of India": replaces the original mandate of industrial finance with infrastructure and again uses "Board" instead of "Bank".

• "Industrial Divestment Board of India": "Divestment" means selling off assets, the opposite of the development-financing role, and "Board" is again wrong.

Result

IDBI stands for Industrial Development Bank of India.