Banking Sector – Complete GK Capsule for Railway Exams
1. Overview of Indian Banking
- Regulator: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – established 1 April 1935 (nationalised 1 Jan 1949)
- Scheduled Banks: 149 (2024); Commercial banks 12 PSBs + 21 Private + 46 Foreign + 43 RRBs + 11 Small Finance Banks + 6 Payments Banks
- Total Bank Branches: 1.58 lakh (2024)
- Total ATMs: 2.15 lakh (2024)
- Banking Density: 1 branch per 1,640 Indians
2. Types of Banks in India
| Category |
Number (2024) |
Examples |
Key Feature |
| Public Sector Banks (PSBs) |
12 |
SBI, PNB, BOB |
≥50 % govt. stake |
| Private Sector Banks |
21 |
HDFC, ICICI, Axis |
Majority private equity |
| Foreign Banks |
46 |
Citi, HSBC, StanChart |
Head office outside India |
| Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) |
43 |
Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank |
Joint: Centre(50 %)+State(15 %)+Sponsor PSB(35 %) |
| Small Finance Banks |
11 |
AU, Equitas, Ujjivan |
Focus on unserved sectors |
| Payments Banks |
6 |
Airtel PB, Paytm PB |
Deposit ₹1 lakh max; no lending |
| Co-operative Banks |
1,539 UCB + 96,000 RCBs |
Saraswat, Punjab & Maharashtra |
Dual control: RBI + State |
| Development Finance Institution |
1 |
NaBFID (2022) |
Infra-lending long-term |
3. Evolution Timeline – Must-Know Dates
| Year |
Event |
| 1770 |
First Indian bank—Bank of Hindustan (Calcutta) |
| 1806 |
Bank of Calcutta → Bank of Bengal (1 of 3 Presidency banks) |
| 27 Jan 1921 |
Imperial Bank of India (merger of 3 Presidency banks) |
| 1 Apr 1935 |
Reserve Bank of India constituted |
| 1 Jul 1955 |
Imperial Bank converted into State Bank of India |
| 19 Jul 1969 |
First Nationalisation – 14 major PSBs |
| 15 Apr 1980 |
Second Nationalisation – 6 more PSBs |
| 1991 |
Narasimham Committee-I – LPG reforms |
| 1998 |
Narasimham Committee-II – Stronger PSBs |
| Apr 2014 |
RBI licences 2 PBs & 10 SFBs via Nachiket Mor panel |
| 1 Apr 2015 |
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana completes 15.4 cr accounts |
| 2016 |
UPI launched (11 Apr) – NPCI |
| 30 Aug 2019 |
Mega PSB Merger – 27 → 12 |
| 1 Apr 2022 |
NaBFID functional |
| 2023 |
RBI launches CBDC (e₹) pilot wholesale & retail |
4. Nationalisation Details
First (19 Jul 1969) – 14 Banks
Allahabad, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara, Central Bank, Dena, Indian, Indian Overseas, Punjab National, Syndicate, UCO, Union, United Commercial.
Second (15 Apr 1980) – 6 Banks
Andhra, Corporation, New Bank of India, Oriental, Punjab & Sind, Vijaya.
5. Important Mergers (Post-2000)
| Acquirer (Surviving) |
Merged Entity |
Effective Date |
| SBI |
Associate Banks (5) + Bharatiya Mahila Bank |
1 Apr 2017 |
| PNB |
Oriental Bank + United Bank |
1 Apr 2020 |
| BOB |
Dena + Vijaya |
1 Apr 2019 |
| Canara |
Syndicate |
1 Apr 2020 |
| Union |
Andhra + Corporation |
1 Apr 2020 |
| Indian |
Allahabad |
1 Apr 2020 |
6. Taglines & Headquarters (Top-10)
| Bank |
HQ |
Tagline |
| SBI |
Mumbai |
“The Nation banks on us” |
| PNB |
New Delhi |
“The Name you can Bank Upon” |
| BOB |
Vadodara |
“India’s International Bank” |
| Canara |
Bengaluru |
“Together we Can” |
| HDFC |
Mumbai |
“We Understand Your World” |
| ICICI |
Mumbai |
“Khayaal Aapka” |
| Axis |
Mumbai |
“Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi” |
| Central Bank |
Mumbai |
“Central to you since 1911” |
| UCO |
Kolkata |
“Honours Your Trust” |
| Indian |
Chennai |
“Taking Banking Technology to Common Man” |
7. Key Banking Indices & Reports
- Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) – RBI; 2024 value: 60.1 (out of 100)
- EASE (Enhanced Access & Service Excellence) – Annual PSB reforms; 6th edition 2023-24
- BANKEX – BSE banking sector index (15 stocks)
- Nifty PSU Bank Index – 12 stocks
8. Regulatory & Development Acts
| Act |
Year |
Purpose |
| RBI Act |
1934 |
Constituted RBI & note issue |
| Banking Regulation Act |
1949 |
Licencing, management, inspection |
| SBI Act |
1955 |
Created SBI |
| Nationalisation Acts |
1970/1980 |
Enabled take-over |
| Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer) Act |
1969 |
First nationalisation |
| DICGC Act |
1961 |
Deposit insurance (₹5 lakh cover) |
| SARFAESI Act |
2002 |
NPAs & asset reconstruction |
| IBC |
2016 |
Insolvency resolution |
| FRDI Bill (lapsed) |
2017 |
Bail-in proposal |
9. Deposit Insurance & Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC)
- Subsidiary of RBI
- Insurance limit: ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank (since 4 Feb 2020 – raised from ₹1 lakh)
- Covers: SB, CA, RD, FD – commercial, co-op, local & PBs
- Not covered: Deposits of foreign govts, central/state govts, inter-bank
10. Priority Sector Lending (PSL) – RBI norms 2024
| Category |
Target for PSBs |
| Agriculture |
18 % (of ANBC*) |
| Micro & small enterprises |
7.5 % |
| Weaker sections |
12 % |
| Overall PSL |
40 % |
| *ANBC = Adjusted Net Bank Credit |
|
11. Digital Initiatives (2020-24)
| Platform |
Owner |
Use |
| UPI |
NPCI |
Real-time P2P, P2M |
| BharatPe, PhonePe |
Private |
UPI apps |
| CBDC (e₹) |
RBI |
Pilot retail in 15 cities |
| 123PB |
RBI |
Unified portal for payments banks |
| Account Aggregator (AA) |
RBI-licensed |
Consent-based data sharing |
12. One-Liner Quick Facts (Revision Capsule)
- SBI is the largest commercial bank by assets (>₹55 lakh cr).
- Punjab National Bank is the first Swadeshi bank (1895, Lahore).
- Bank of Baroda has the highest overseas branches among PSBs (95+).
- HDFC Bank has the highest market-cap (>₹11 lakh cr).
- RBI’s 25th Governor: Shaktikanta Das (appointed 12 Dec 2018).
- RBI prints currency through 4 presses: Dewas, Nashik, Mysore, Salboni.
- RBI’s logo inspired from East India Company’s double mohur.
- Financial inclusion campaign: PMJDY – Guinness record 55 cr+ accounts.
- RRBs capital shared – 50:15:35 (Centre:State:Sponsor).
- DICGC cover – ₹5 lakh includes principal + interest.
- Negotiable Instruments: Cheque, BoE, Promissory Note.
- Base rate replaced by MCLR (2016); now External Benchmark (EBLR) since 2019.
- CRR: 4.5 %, SLR: 18 % (May 2024).
- Repo rate: 6.50 %, Reverse repo: 3.35 %, MSF: 6.75 %.
- IBC 2016 trigger threshold: ₹1 cr (raised from ₹1 lakh).
Quick-Reference Tables
Table-1: RBI Governors (Last 5)
| Name |
Tenure |
| Shaktikanta Das |
2018 – incumbent |
| Urjit Patel |
2016 – 2018 |
| Raghuram Rajan |
2013 – 2016 |
| D. Subbarao |
2008 – 2013 |
| Y. V. Reddy |
2003 – 2008 |
Table-2: Asset Quality (Gross NPA %)
| Bank |
Mar-24 |
| SBI |
2.78 % |
| PNB |
5.73 % |
| BOB |
3.55 % |
| HDFC |
1.17 % |
| ICICI |
2.49 % |
15+ MCQs for Practice
1. Which was the first Indian bank to be nationalised in 1969?
Answer: **Punjab National Bank** (among the 14).
2. The Reserve Bank of India was nationalised in which year?
Answer: **1949**.
3. How many public sector banks exist in India after the 2019-20 merger?
Answer: **12**.
4. The deposit insurance cover per depositor is:
Answer: **₹5 lakh**.
5. Which committee recommended the establishment of Small Finance Banks?
Answer: **Nachiket Mor Committee**.
6. The headquarters of the State Bank of India is located at:
Answer: **Mumbai**.
7. Which bank is known as “India’s International Bank”?
Answer: **Bank of Baroda**.
8. UPI was launched by which organisation?
Answer: **NPCI** (National Payments Corporation of India).
9. The minimum priority sector lending target for domestic commercial banks is:
Answer: **40 % of ANBC**.
10. The Central Bank Digital Currency (e₹) pilot was launched in which year?
Answer: **2022**.
11. Which act empowers banks to recover NPAs without court intervention?
Answer: **SARFAESI Act, 2002**.
12. The acronym “MCLR” stands for:
Answer: **Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate**.
13. Which bank was formed by the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank?
Answer: **Bank of Baroda** (effective 1 Apr 2019).
14. Who is the ex-officio Chairman of the RBI Central Board?
Answer: **Governor of RBI**.
15. The first Regional Rural Bank “Prathama Grameen Bank” was sponsored by:
Answer: **Syndicate Bank**.
16. Negotiable Instruments Act was enacted in:
Answer: **1881**.
Last update: May 2024 | Source: RBI Bulletin, DFS, NPCI, IBEF.
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