Public Sector Banks in India – Government Banks

Public Sector Banks in India also called Government Banks in India:

PSB or a Public Sector Bank is a bank in which the government holds the majority of the stake (that is above 50 percent). It means that the government is the stakeholder of more than half of the bank’s share. In India, the total number of Public Sector Banks is 21.

Government Banks in India – working in national interests, not with any profit motive.

If our only woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is to remember in Indian history ever, it has to be for the nationalization of public sector banks on 19 July 1969.  Government banks in India are those banks where 51% or more shares are owned by the central/ state government. At present, there are 21 Government Banks in India. All the Government Banks in India are directly controlled by Reserve Bank of India– RBI according to the provisions of Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Currently, Government Banks In India are comfortably sitting with 85% of total deposits in the country.

The primary goal of Government Banks In India

 Their job is to infuse credit in vital infrastructure projects and the welfare of the common man, mostly neglected by private sector commercial banks. In India, you find public sector banks & Private banks in India.

• With the huge number of branches operated by state-owned banks, even poor citizens living in remote parts of the country get easy access to basic banking services.

How did the Public Sector Banks emerge?

The Central Government joined the banking business in the year 1955 when the Imperial Bank of India was nationalized. The Reserve Bank of India took 60% of the stake, and a new bank was formed which is the State Bank of India.

The Nehru Government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act in 1959, and 7 more state banks were formed, all of which were subsidiaries of the State Bank of India. In 1959, the Indira Gandhi Government added 14 other nationalized banks in the list of Public Sector Banks.

PSBs before the economic liberalization

By the year 1991, 90% of India’s banking sector was comprised of PSBs. In 1992, they had 60,646 branches in all over India with the total deposit of Rs 1,10,000 crore. In 2002-2003, the profit made by these banks was Rs 7780 crore. And In 2008-2009, the total profit was Rs 16856 crore.

Hurdles being faced by the government banks in India

 Government Banks in India has been plagued by the constant burden of NPA and fierce competition from private sector banks in urban areas.

1. Incompetent aging workforce unable to catch up with the latest banking technologies.
2. In the era of technological advancement, Government Banks in India are far behind the private sector banks in setting up kiosks, e-wallets, pos machines, etc.

List of Public sector Banks in India / Government Banks in India:

Reference Link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_sector_banks_in_India