Nationalization of banks started on 19th July itself. About 54 years ago, on July 19, 1969, 14 important banks of the country were nationalised. Then probably no one even knew that Indian banks would one day emerge as a major partner in making India a superpower. On Banks Nationalization Day, you are told such things about the country's banks, especially government banks, which you hardly know.
When the country became independent in the year 1947, there were a lot of banks in the country, but soon their number started decreasing. In only 8 years i.e. by the year 1955, about 360 banks of the country were drowned. This was the period when the condition of the banks was bad. Then came the era of nationalization of banks. From here, both the direction and condition of the banking sector started changing.
That's why the government took command
Banking expert and founder of Voice of India, Ashwini Rana told how the country's banks kept on changing and today they started contributing in making India an economic power. According to Rana, when the government took the command of the banks in its hands. Since then there has been a rapid growth in the branch of the bank. Banks of the country are now visible not only in the cities but also in far-flung villages. After nationalization, there was an increase in the branches of banks. Waking up from the city, the banks went towards the villages and countryside. According to statistics, in July 1969, there were only 8322 branches of banks in the country. By the time of 2023, this figure has crossed 85 thousand.
Banks have seen many rounds
1. The era of loan fairs: Earlier it was believed that it is difficult to get loans from government banks. But to increase its reach, banks started organizing many events like loan fairs which were successful.
2. Public sector banks were able to rapidly move themselves from manual ledgers to the era of computerization.
3. When the era of giving full autonomy to banks started, the rejuvenation of banks started.
4. Government banks started a successful phase of selling shares of banks in public after globalization.
5. Apart from banking, the era of giving other services to banks started, the change of which is now visible even in remote villages.
6. Public sector banks have played an important role in reaching the public through Jan Dhan accounts.
7. In the era of demonetisation, along with the public, the government should also stand by.
Banks did wonders in demonetisation
According to Ashwini Rana, the banks have done many such things which have saved the country from getting into trouble. Something similar was seen during demonetisation. According to Rana, during the demonetisation, in 54 days, these banks have done what is praiseworthy in many ways. No unit of the country's government system (except the army) can do such work on 36 hours' notice as these public sector banks have done.
This is how banks merged
The first merger of public sector banks took place in 1993 with New Bank of India in Punjab National Bank. After this, acting on the recommendations of the Narasimham Committee, the Central Government merged State Bank of Saurashtra in 2008, State Bank of Indore in 2010 and five associate banks of State Bank of India in 2017 with SBI.
In the year 2019, three more banks including Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank were merged with Bank of Baroda. Then from April 1, 2020, 4 big banks were formed by merging many government banks of the country. In this way Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank merged. At present there are 12 government banks left in the country.
Indian banks are standing in the storm of recession
Today, when big banks are collapsing due to the economic crisis in the world, the condition of Indian banks is getting better. Due to the continuous efforts of the government, the position of the banks is getting stronger. The profits of banks are also increasing continuously. Where public sector banks are playing their role in implementing the social schemes of the government, they are also making their full contribution in the economic progress of the country.
After five decades, now if the government privatises the banks, that means it takes a U-turn. So this can hinder the economic progress of the country. At the same time, there is also a possibility of laxity in implementing the social schemes of the government. Even before nationalization and even after the advent of new generation private banks, the priority of these banks is not to earn profit. Nor do they focus on any particular category of customers. Private banks also pay less attention to government social schemes and contribute relatively less to them.
