India to Form High-Powered Banking Committee for Development Goals

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Monday that the government will soon constitute a high-powered committee to guide the banking sector's role in India's development goals, addressing the inaugural session of the two-day PSB Confluence 2026 in New Delhi. The committee, first proposed in the Union Budget for 2026-27, will comprehensively review the sector and align it with the nation's transformation into a developed economy by 2047.

Speaking at the conclave, Sitharaman stated that the committee's composition would be announced shortly and that its recommendations would be acted upon swiftly. She emphasized that the banking sector is entering its next reform phase from a position of unprecedented strength, with non-performing assets (NPAs) at record lows. "With NPAs at the lowest ever Indian banking has seen, there cannot be a better position of strength with which banks can take on reforms," Sitharaman said. She urged public sector banks to leverage their strengthened balance sheets to support economic growth and generate practical ideas to meet emerging financing needs.

Department of Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Lohiya provided context on the sector's...