Will the Central Bank of India become a Private bank? | Why is the Government Privatizing banks?

The Government of India had made a number of announcements and plans in the Union Budget of 2021-22 and one of the major plans was in regards to disinvestment of privatization. In this article let’s look at the plans of the Government in regards to privatizing the banks and whether the Central Bank of India would become a Private banking organization.

Privatization of Public Banks – Latest News
Reason Why Government is Privatizing the Public Banks
Banks Officers’ Confederation on Privatization of the Banks
FAQ

Privatization of Public Banks – Latest News

The Government of India had shortlisted 4 Public sector banks in order to privatize them in the fiscal year 2021-22. The four banks on the list are Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India.

The Government of India has decided to privatize just two of these banks for now and according to certain reports NITI Aayog has decided to privatize the Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank and their names were shortlisted by the organization.

The report also added that the Bank of India will also be a candidate that is potential enough for privatization. In regards to disinvestment, NITI Aayog has submitted the names of two state-run banks and one general insurer to the secretaries of the committee.

Reason Why Government is Privatizing the Banks

The Modi Government has been pushing to sell all the assets that are owned by the Government in order to cover up the expenses for the Coronavirus Pandemic and to increase the revenue of the Government as it has spent a massive amount for the recovery from the pandemic.

The announcement regarding the privatization of the banks was made during the Union Budget announcement of 2021-22. The Central Government has a target to gain around INR 1.75 lakh crore from the sale of stakes in the current fiscal.

The Central bank of India and other public sector banks will probably become a private bank as the Government has already implemented it in many other sectors and to some banks as well. The country has only 12 public sector banks as compared to 27 in the year 2017.

Banks Officers’ Confederation on Privatization of the Banks

The Confederation of Bank officers does not seem to be much happy with the decision made by the Central Government. The officers had even called for protests and strikes regarding the case. The strike notice had conveyed the message that the decision of the Government in order to privatize the public sector bank is totally unwarranted and added that the requirement right now is to strengthen the public sector banks.

It is found that the State Bank of India will be the only bank that would remain a public sector bank and the Government had justified this statement by saying that the bank is a strategic bank and it is responsible for the implementation of the public sector initiatives like expanding the rural credit.

The Banking unions have conveyed that the same can be done to other public sector banks. They added that certain schemes such as MUDRA and Jan Dhan Yojana have been successful due to the vigorous implementation of the public sector banks.

The unions also believed that during the pandemic they were an important part in implementing the measure in order to support the plans of the Government to provide liquidity and fiscal stimulus. Privatizing the public sector banks is like providing the money of the people to private hands with a different interest towards them.

Conclusion

The Government is also privatizing Air India, BPCL, and shipping corporations, and the process for it has already been started in the current fiscal year. The proposal regarding privatization is handled by DIPAM and the Department of Financial Services.

FAQ

Why do Governments Privatize?

Privatization generally helps governments to save money and increase efficiency, where private companies can move goods quicker and more efficiently.

What are some examples of privatization?

Public sale of shares, Public auction, Public tender and Direct negotiations are some of the example of privatization.

Which are the 2 banks that are going to be Privatized?

The Government of India had shortlisted 4 Public sector banks in order to privatize them but has decided to privatize just two of these banks for now, which are the Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank and their names were shortlisted by the organization.