Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set an ambitious goal for India’s banking sector to see at least one domestic bank ranked among the world’s top five by 2047, as part of the broader Viksit Bharat vision and ongoing reforms to consolidate and strengthen the banking system.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his Independence Day address from the Red Fort to set an ambitious marker for India’s financial sector, saying the country should aim for at least one domestic bank to rank among the world’s five largest. He linked the target to his broader 2047 vision for a developed India, arguing that the banking system has become stronger over the past decade and must now support a more global economic role.
The remarks fit a longer policy push. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has repeatedly argued that India needs a handful of large lenders capable of financing a faster-growing economy, alongside a globally competitive bank of scale. Government-led consolidation has already cut the number of state-run banks from 27 in 2017 to 12, part of a broader effort to create stronger institutions with wider reach and deeper balance sheets.
That strategy is now moving into a new phase. Speaking at the PSB Conclave 2026 in New Delhi, Sitharaman said the government would soon announce a high-level committee to review banking and financial-sector reforms. According to reports on her budget speech, the panel will examine structural changes needed to improve efficiency, scale and technology adoption, including in non-banking financial companies, as part of the “Viksit Bharat 2047” framework.
Officials have framed the exercise as more than a routine review. Business Standard reported that the proposed committee is intended to help build larger lenders suited to the funding demands of a developed economy, while the Department of Financial Services has signalled that the panel will also look at public-sector banks’ balance-sheet constraints. Sitharaman said younger workers and new users of financial services would be central to that effort, presenting the banking sector as a key part of India’s next stage of growth.
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