The government has no proposal under consideration for merging public sector banks at present, according to Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary. Speaking in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday, Chaudhary emphasized that the amalgamation of PSBs has helped create stronger competitive banks with economies of scale and scope while enabling the realization of wide-ranging synergies. The minister highlighted that leveraging networks, better access to low-cost deposits, increased ability to support larger ticket-size lending, and competitive operations by virtue of greater financial capacity have provided amalgamated banks with substantial growth in customer base, market reach and operational efficiency.
According to Reserve Bank of India data cited by Chaudhary, the consolidated total business of Bank of Baroda grew from ₹16.1 lakh crore in March 2019 to ₹27.0 lakh crore in March 2025 following the amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank. Similarly, Punjab National Bank expanded from ₹18.3 lakh crore in March 2020 to ₹26.8 lakh crore in March 2025 after merging Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India. The business of Union Bank of India increased from ₹15.3 lakh crore in March 2020 to ₹22.9 lakh crore in March 2025, while Canara Bank grew from ₹15.7 lakh crore to ₹25.3 lakh crore during the same period. Indian Bank also showed significant growth, with total business increasing from ₹8.6 lakh crore in March 2020 to ₹13.3 lakh crore in March 2025 after amalgamating Allahabad Bank.
The EASE Reform Agenda is finalized annually at the start of each financial year under the guidance of the EASE Steering Committee of member PSBs under the aegis of the Indian Banks' Association. As reported by Chaudhary, the EASE 9.0 Reforms Agenda for FY2026-27 was launched in February 2026 with a vision of building globally competitive PSBs for Viksit Bharat by 2047. The reforms agenda is built upon four themes of the EASERise framework: Risk & Resilience, Innovation, Socio-economic Impact and Excellence. It marks the next phase of reforms aimed at strengthening long-term capabilities of PSBs with focus on institutionalizing customer service culture, artificial intelligence-enabled workflows, strengthening operational risk framework, modernizing IT systems, lending to emerging sectors, sustainable finance and employee well-being.
Regarding the rupee's performance, Chaudhary stated that the value of the rupee is market-determined, with no target or specific level or band. According to the minister, the Reserve Bank of India regularly monitors the foreign exchange market and intervenes in situations of excess volatility. During the current financial year 2025-26, the depreciation of the rupee has been influenced by the increase in trade deficit amid relatively weak support from the capital account. Additionally, increasing crude oil prices amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia have added further pressure on the rupee. During 2024 and 2025, the RBI's intervention in the foreign exchange market was ₹64,064 crore in two calendar years, with the Reserve Bank selling ₹12,350 crore and ₹51,714 crore during 2024 and 2025 respectively.