The government may privatize 2 of the 4 banks, the finance minister announced in his budget speech.

New Delhi, 15 February 2021 Monday

In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government was aiming to privatize two public sector banks, now three government sources said that among them were Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India. Included.

Mostly the government avoids privatization in the banking sector as it is also politically dangerous for the government. Although the Modi government has taken this bold decision, the government will take action to sell two of the four banks in the financial year starting April.

While the government has selected small banks to gauge the mood of investors, the government may consider privatizing large banks in the near future. At present, Bank of India has about 50,000 employees, Central Bank of India 33,000, IOB 26,000 and Bank of Maharashtra 13,000. This privatization process can take up to 6 months.

Although the government will retain SBI, the country's largest bank, it will help encourage loan disbursements in rural areas of the country. The government has turned to privatization to radically change the banking system, which is facing the problem of NPAs.