The Government of India has constituted a High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat to review the country’s banking sector and recommend structural, institutional, regulatory and legislative reforms to make it globally competitive, financially inclusive and resilient for Viksit Bharat, 2047.
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the setting up of the Committee in her Budget speech 2026-27.
Suresh N. Patel, former Central Vigilance Commissioner, will head the Committee as its Chairman. Its members include Shirish Chandra Murmu, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Padmaja Chunduru, former MD & CEO, Indian Bank; and N S Vishwanathan, former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
The Joint Secretary (Banking), Department of Financial Services, will serve as the Member Secretary. The Committee will have a tenure of six months, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Terms of Reference
The Committee will assess existing banking practices and prudential norms, identify global best practices and adapt them to the Indian banking system. It will also prepare a roadmap for creating globally competitive banks.
It will review the existing regulatory and legal frameworks for banks, including Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative Banks, and recommend reforms to improve efficiency and enable ease of doing banking for Viksit Bharat.
The Committee will assess the long-term capital requirements of banks, Development Financial Institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies. It will recommend funding sources and enabling mechanisms to support credit growth.
It will also examine differences in the cost of capital for businesses and suggest policy options to boost private investment for sustainable growth.
Another key area of its work will be preparing a roadmap for AI and digital innovation in banking institutions, along with safeguards against cyber risks. It will also suggest a strategy for talent acquisition and capacity building to ensure a future-ready workforce for the banking sector.
The Committee will review the Priority Sector Lending framework and Lead Bank Scheme to assess their relevance, effectiveness and coordination in promoting inclusive, balanced and data-driven credit delivery, in line with evolving economic priorities and financial inclusion goals.
It will also make recommendations on any other matter referred to it by the Government of India.
-PIB Inputs
