Solution

The Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI) was established, under Section 20 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act). It is licensed under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. The government, in 2011, set up this central registry to track online data pertaining to lending transactions against equitable mortgages in India, with an aim to curb the rising number of property-related frauds. While the central government, so far, holds a majority stake in the entity, the CERSAI, in March 2021, said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may pick up the government’s 51% stake in the central registry, since all its functions are related to banking activities. The remaining 49% stake in the CERSAI is held by state-run lenders, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, along with the National Housing Bank. Essentially, all of CERSAI’s functions and activities are related to banks, housing finance companies (HFCs) and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The central registry, among other things, deals with the filing of security interest of immovable, movable and intangible properties by lenders. Simply put, the CERSAI login is an online database of all the properties mortgaged with banks in India.