Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited, India's largest public deposit mobilisation company in the private sector and part of the Sahara Group, has acquired the entire shareholding in the First India Asset Management to enter the business of mutual funds.

SICL will now be the sponsor to the First India Mutual Fund. Earlier it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Dr A C Muthiah who was the erstwhile sponsor of First India Mutual Fund to acquire the entire shareholding in FIAM.

With the acquisition the name of FIAM will be changed to SIFCL.

"As a consequence of the change in the sponsor of the First India Mutual Fund, it is proposed that the name of AMC, its investment manager and of the schemes to be changed shortly to adequately reflect the new sponsor identity, subject to regulatory compliances," says a release from Sahara.

First India Mutual Fund launched its first open-ended schemes in 2002 and had assets under management of more than Rs. 233 crore as of October 31, 2003.

It presently manages six schemes: First India Income Fund, First India Short Term Plan, First India Liquid Fund, First India Gilt Fund, First India Growth Fund and First India Tax Gain.

The Sahara India Group has emerged as one of the bigger business houses in the country today with a workforce of over 690,000.

It has businesses in the sectors of para-banking where it claims to be India's number one public deposit mobilisation company in the private sector with the highest yearly deposit level, infrastructure and housing, media and entertainment, and aviation.

Soon, the group plans to move into consumer products, information technology and tourism.

SICL, itself, claims to serve 51 million depositors and an asset base estimated at over Rs 32,000 crore (Rs 320 billion).

Sahara India Pariwar with its foray into Asset Management Business through FIAM will provide products and services like mutual fund, housing finance and depository participant service.

Sahara India Pariwar has also chalked up plans to launch a number of debt, equity and specialty products in the near future.

SIFCL plans to retain the key personnel in the First India and then strengthen the team.