Archive · 18 Aug 2026
High-powered panel to examine banking reforms for Viksit Bharat
India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has announced a special committee to improve the country's banks.
This committee will help make banks stronger and ready for the future.
It is part of a big goal called Viksit Bharat, which means a developed India.
The committee will look at ways to make Indian banks among the best in the world.
Right now, only one Indian bank, State Bank of India, is in the top 50 biggest banks in the world.
The Prime Minister of India wants Indian banks to one day be in the top five.
Bank leaders met in New Delhi for two days to share their ideas.
They talked about getting more savings, helping young people use banks, supporting farmers, and new credit-card ideas.
Indian banks have become much healthier in recent years.
Their profits nearly tripled, and bad loans went down a lot, which is good news for the country.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a high-powered committee to examine banking sector reforms for a Viksit Bharat.
The committee was announced in the Budget for 2026-27 (FY27) and will review the sector while safeguarding financial stability, inclusion and consumer protection.
Deliberations at the two-day PSB Confluence in New Delhi will provide material for the committee's recommendations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal for Indian banks to rank among the top five globally; only SBI (45th) features in the top 50 by asset size.
PSB net profits nearly trebled to a record Rs 1.98 trillion in FY26, while the gross NPA ratio fell to an all-time low of 1.9 per cent.
- Who
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the committee is being set up by the Indian government
- What
- A high-powered committee to examine banking sector reforms for a Viksit Bharat
- When
- Announced on Monday at the PSB Confluence; the committee was announced in the Budget for 2026-27 (FY27) and is expected to be set up this month
- Where
- New Delhi, India (site of the PSB Confluence)
- Why
- To align India's financial institutions with the Viksit Bharat vision, safeguard financial stability and inclusion, and help Indian banks rank among the world's top five
- Committee
- High-powered committee on banking for a Viksit Bharat
- Announced by
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
- Budget mention
- Budget for 2026-27 (FY27)
- Top Indian bank
- State Bank of India (45th globally by asset size, S&P Global ranking)
- PSB net profit FY26
- Record Rs 1.98 trillion (nearly trebled over five years)
- Gross NPA ratio
- 1.9% as of March 31, 2026 (down from 7.3% in March 2022)
- Previous bank mergers
- 27 state-owned banks consolidated into 12 between 2017 and 2020
- Confluence themes
- Seven themes including deposit mobilisation, banking for the youth, GCCs, agriculture value-chain infrastructure, and credit-card innovation