Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday urged Indian banks to go beyond mere growth and change their scale to aim to be among the world’s top 10, news agency PTI reported.
“I want to tell our Indian banks that they should not only plan for growth, but try to change the scale. Our banks should be in the top ten,” Shah said at the Financial Express India’s Best Bank Awards function in Mumbai.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra (PM) Modi’s vision, Shah said, “The Constitution speaks of three types of inclusiveness, which are political, social and financial inclusion, and these are guiding India’s growth story.”
He noted that PM Modi has set a target of making India a `vishwaguru’ by 2047.
The Union Home Minister stressed the importance of supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for India’s economic growth, recalling that conglomerates such as Reliance Industries, Adani Group and Torrent Group started as MSMEs.
“If a country’s banking system, especially the one in a country like India, does not give importance to MSMEs, it stops the growth story of the nation,” he said. “If nobody had extended credit to these conglomerates, India would not have had so many industrial houses.”
Official statistics show that MSME growth slowed to 14.1 per cent in FY25, down from over 20 per cent in the previous fiscal. Analysts have expressed concerns over credit quality in MSME lending.
On the global economic scenario, Shah said, “While the world is going through difficulties, with polarisation of societies and people losing faith in leadership, India is offering stability, trustworthy leadership and a robust economy.”
Highlighting India’s economic performance, he added, “Many countries are struggling at a one to two per cent growth rate, while India has maintained a steady seven to eight per cent growth. This is a huge achievement.”
Shah also cited investor confidence, saying, “We have consistently maintained a 14 per cent increase in foreign direct investment. This reflects global faith in India’s economy.”
Speaking on structural reforms, he said, “Through the PLI scheme, industrial corridors, logistics parks and Start-up India, we have created a new ecosystem. A decade ago we had only 26 start-ups, and today we have 1.92 lakh. In the last ten years, India has moved from 26th to 3rd position globally in this sector.”
Highlighting future growth areas, Shah said, “Electric vehicles, battery technology, green growth, fintech, space and defence manufacturing will all strengthen India’s growth story in the coming years.”
Recalling the state of banks before 2014, he said, “Between 2008 and 2014, loans worth Rs 52 lakh crore were given, many of which turned into bad loans. The banking sector was marred by corruption, carelessness and lack of transparency. Prime Minister Modi decided to bring in reforms to clean up the system.”
Shah also mentioned the Jan Dhan initiative, saying, “There were 60 crore people where not a single member of the family had a bank account. We opened 53 crore accounts and linked poor people with the banking network.”
On digital adoption, he remarked, “The UPI has brought a revolution in digital payments. Recent figures show that every second digital transaction in the world is happening in India.”
He further highlighted India’s digital leap, noting, “Today 52 crore people are using DigiLocker and 95 per cent of the country has 5G network coverage.”
(With PTI inputs)
