India nationalised 14 commercial banks with deposits of Rs 50 crore or more on 19 July 1969 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and six more with deposits of R…
No. The RBI was nationalised in 1949 and the Imperial Bank became the State Bank of India in 1955, with a rural branch mandate.
Indira Gandhi's government nationalised the 14 banks with deposits of Rs 50 crore or more. They held about 85% of deposits.
The Supreme Court struck down the 1969 law in the R.C. Cooper case. A new ordinance came four days later; the 1970 Act followed.
Six banks with deposits of Rs 200 crore or more were nationalised, taking the total to 20.
Bank offices rose from 8,262 to 60,220. Rural offices went from 1,833 to 35,206, RBI data show.
Yes. After the 1991 reforms the RBI allowed new private banks, the first licences since nationalisation.
Mergers in 1993, 2017, 2019 and 2020 absorbed nine nationalised banks. Twelve public-sector banks remain.
PSBs earned a record Rs 1.98 lakh crore in 2025-26. The Cabinet approved selling 60.72% of IDBI Bank to Fairfax.
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