Nationalizing Losses, Privatizing Profits: The Logic Behind Bank Privatization
India’s Finance Minister, while presenting the Union Budget in February 2021, had announced the privatization of Public Sector Banks (PSB) as part of the disinvestment drive to garner Rs 1.75 lakh crore. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which the government will soon introduce, is aimed at facilitating this process. This amendment seeks to bring down the minimum government holding in the PSBs from 51% to 26%.