Overview
- The finance minister said work has begun and discussions are underway with the Reserve Bank of India and lenders on creating big, world‑class banks.
- Options under consideration include consolidation through mergers as well as the potential creation of new institutions, with no specific plan announced yet.
- She urged banks to post branch staff who speak local languages and to value this in performance appraisals to restore person‑to‑person customer connect.
- Banks were asked to conduct their own credit assessments, rely less on external credit bureaus, and simplify documentation to ease borrowing.
- Bank unions and a civil‑society forum opposed privatisation, demanded assurances and capital support for PSBs, and cited public banks’ role in rural outreach and deposits.