PMO meeting on PSB reforms soon as Centre eyes Indian banks among world's top 20: Report

The report said the renewed focus on banks comes after a gap of 6 years as the Centre aims to establish two Indian banks among the world’s biggest 20.

The Prime Minister’s Office is set to hold a meeting with top government officials to discuss reforms in the public sector banks as Centre’s reforms agenda picks up momentum ahead of Budget 2026, a report by the Financial Express said on November 19.

The meeting is set to review several proposals from the department of financial services, FE reported citing people aware of the development.

Privatisation of two public lenders, which was announced back in 2021-22, may return to the discussion table, the report said. In addition, the meeting is likely to discuss bank consolidation, more operational autonomy for boards of state-run banks, raising FDI limits in PSBs to 49 percent from the current 20 percent and supporting these banks’ need to for additional capital, the newspaper reported.

The report said the renewed focus on banks comes after a gap of 6 years as the Centre aims to establish two Indian banks among the world’s biggest 20.

The inter-ministerial discussions on the issue is in final stages, and once the PMO meeting is concluded, political decisions will be taken closer to the Budget, FE said.

The Central government is planning to execute its agenda between 2026 and 2028, before the 2029 general elections, the paper said.