One More Step Towards Privatisation? Government to Sell Stakes in 6 PSUs, Targets ₹80,000 Crore in FY27

During the current fiscal year 2026–2027, the Central Government expanded its disinvestment activities by lowering its ownership of six Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). In addition to banks, the government is reducing its ownership of other public sector businesses. Through disinvestment, the government has so far raised almost ₹20,000 crore. This now exceeds the ₹16,885 crore that was collected during the course of the previous fiscal year.

The Central Government has raised a total of ₹18,561 crore by selling shares in the Central Bank of India, Coal India, NHPC, NLC India, General Insurance Corporation (GIC), and Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC). The government raised the following approximate sum from the sale of PSU stakes:

Company / Organisation	Amount Raised Through OFS
Central Bank of India	Over ₹2,200 crore
Coal India	Over ₹5,500 crore
NHPC	Over ₹4,300 crore
NLC	Over ₹1,200 crore
GIC	Over ₹3,000 crore
IRFC	Over ₹2,000 crore
Cochin Shipyard	Over ₹1,700 crore

This amount is just in 3 months of the financial year. This amount is higher than the total amount raised by the Government in the last few years. It seems the Government has increased the speed of disinvestment. The government raised ₹16,885 crore in FY 2025-26 and ₹10,163 crore in FY 2024-25. The government had collected ₹16,507 crore in FY 2023-24, ₹35,293 crore in FY 2022-23, ₹13,534 crore in FY 2021-22 and ₹32,886 crore in FY 2020-21.

It seems the NDA-led government has put disinvestment on top of its agenda. Almost all PSU stake sales during the current financial year have been carried out through the Offer for Sale route. 

The government is also planning to strategically disinvest in a number of other Central Public Sector Enterprises. Among them are Air India Engineering Services Ltd. (AIESL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. (RINL), and Container Corporation of India (CONCOR).

On stock exchanges, 68 CPSEs are listed. The government owns shares in these businesses worth more than ₹22.80 lakh crore. In addition, 16 public financial institutions, including banks and insurance firms, are listed; the government owns shares in these organizations worth around ₹19 lakh crore. As a result, the government can readily sell a portion of these businesses.

The government’s strategic disinvestment programme is also continuing, although the process has been slow. The Expression of Interest process has been completed for the strategic sale of six CPSEs. These include IDBI Bank, NMDC Steel, HLL Lifecare, Projects & Development India Ltd (PDIL), BEML and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). 

According to Finance Ministry officials, the strategic sale of IDBI Bank is likely to be revived soon. The process had earlier been put on hold because of valuation concerns and limited interest from investors. The government is now expected to move ahead with the stake sale process again.

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Bank of Maharashtra Q1 Net profit jumps 27% YoY

On Friday, July 10, Bank of Maharashtra announced a 27% year-over-year increase in net profit to ₹2,020 crore for the quarter ended June 2026 (Q1 FY27), which was fueled by a robust increase in interest revenue and an improvement in asset quality.

In the same quarter of the prior fiscal year, the state-owned banking reported a net profit of ₹1,593 crore.

A regulatory filing states that overall income increased from ₹7,879 crore a year earlier to ₹9,063 crore during the quarter. Additionally, interest income rose to ₹8,037 crore from ₹7,054 crore during the same time last year.

According to the bank's exchange filing, Net Interest Income (NII) rose 14.53% year-on-year to ₹3,770 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with ₹3,292 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. On a sequential basis, NII increased 1.82%.

The bank's cost-to-income ratio improved to 35.04% from 37.57% a year ago and 36.51% in the March 2026 quarter.

Return on Assets (RoA) also strengthened to 1.90%, up from 1.80% in Q1 FY26, while net advances registered a robust 27.22% year-on-year growth to ₹3,01,934 crore.

The bank's asset quality strengthened further, with the gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio improving to 1.45% of gross advances as of June-end, down from 1.74% a year ago. The net NPA (NNPA) ratio also declined to 0.13%, compared with 0.18% in the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, the bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 18.64% at the end of the June quarter, compared with 20.06% in the year-ago period.

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Indian Bank Q1 Standalone net profit rises 10% YoY

For the April–June quarter of FY27, Indian Bank declared a standalone net profit of Rs 3,273 crore on Friday. This represents a more than 10% year-over-year (YoY) increase from Rs 2,973 crore recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The PSU lender’s net interest income (NII), meanwhile, rose nearly 17% to around Rs 7,435 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 6,359 crore in Q1 FY26. The company’s shares surged around 10% following the release of the results.

Indian Bank’s rise in net profit and NII was accompanied by a sharp improvement in asset quality. Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) fell nearly 30% YoY to Rs 12,710 crore, while the gross NPA ratio declined to 1.86% from 3.01% in Q1 FY26. Net NPA, meanwhile, fell over 4% YoY to Rs 990 crore, with the net NPA ratio improving to 0.15% from 0.23% a year earlier.

The PSU bank’s net worth rose nearly 14% YoY to Rs 68,793 crore in the first quarter of FY27, from Rs 60,383 crore in the same period of FY26. Its operating profit margin rose to 26.82% from 25.48% a year earlier, while net profit margin edged down to 15.79% from 15.88% in Q1 FY26.

Indian Bank’s return on assets rose to 1.34%, while earnings per share (EPS) increased to Rs 24.92. Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.80%, while total advances grew around 14% to Rs 6.84 lakh crore.

The bank said its slippage ratio declined to 0.77% in June 2026 from 0.94% in June 2025. Yield on investments (YoI), meanwhile, stood at 6.96%, while domestic net interest margin (NIM) improved to 3.41% from 3.35% a year earlier.

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Dividend Paid by PSU Banks to Government for FY 2025-26

Bank	Dividend (Rs. Crore)
State Bank of India (SBI)	8,813
Punjab National Bank (PNB)	2,416
Bank of Baroda(BOB)	2,811
Canara Bank	2,397
Union Bank of India
Bank of India(BOI)	1,553
Central Bank of India
Indian Bank	1,815.05
Indian Overseas Bank
UCO Bank	501
Bank of Maharashtra
Punjab & Sind Bank

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PSU Banks Beat Private Banks in RBI's sDQI Assessment: Full List & Analysis

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has released sDQI Scores for the March 2026 Quarter. Let’s have a look at the sDQI scores of public and private sector banks.

What is sDQI score?

The sDQI is a framework developed by RBI to assess the quality of data submitted by banks for supervisory purposes. The index evaluates four important parameters – Accuracy, Timeliness, Completeness, and Consistency. The objective is to ensure that banks comply with the principles laid down in the Master Direction on Filing of Supervisory Returns, 2024.

The sDQI for SCBs covers 87 SCBs and their key returns (viz. Return on Asset Liability and Off-Balance Sheet Exposures (ALE), Return on Asset Quality (RAQ), Return on Operating Results (ROR), Risk Based Supervision Return (RBS), Liquidity Return (LR), Return on Capital Adequacy (RCA), Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) – Main) and microdata submitted for supervisory assessments.

Latest sDQI score

Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs)

Parameter	Dec-25	Mar-26
Accuracy	87.9	86.8
Completeness	95.8	96.4
Timeliness	92.7	92.1
Consistency	87.0	87.4
sDQI Score	90.9	90.7

Public Sector Banks (PSBs)

Parameter	Dec-25	Mar-26
Accuracy	88.0	86.2
Completeness	98.8	98.1
Timeliness	90.8	91.5
Consistency	86.4	86.8
sDQI Score	91.0	90.7

Private Sector Banks

Parameter	Dec-25	Mar-26
Accuracy	87.2	85.4
Completeness	97.6	95.5
Timeliness	90.1	88.9
Consistency	87.4	87.5
sDQI Score	90.6	89.3

Foreign Banks

Parameter	Dec-25	Mar-26
Accuracy	88.3	87.8
Completeness	92.9	95.7
Timeliness	94.4	94.6
Consistency	87.1	87.8
sDQI Score	90.7	91.4

Small Finance Banks (SFBs)

Parameter	Dec-25	Mar-26
Accuracy	87.7	86.6
Completeness	100.0	99.3
Timeliness	93.2	89.5
Consistency	86.5	86.4
sDQI Score	91.9	90.4

Change in Overall sDQI Score (Dec-25 to Mar-26)

Bank Group	Dec-25	Mar-26	Change
Scheduled Commercial Banks	90.9	90.7	-0.2
Public Sector Banks	91.0	90.7	-0.3
Private Sector Banks	90.6	89.3	-1.3
Foreign Banks	90.7	91.4	+0.7
Small Finance Banks	91.9	90.4	-1.5

Key Highlights:

Foreign Banks were the only group to improve their overall sDQI score, rising from 90.7 to 91.4.

Small Finance Banks recorded the largest decline, with their score falling from 91.9 to 90.4.

Private Sector Banks also saw a significant drop, from 90.6 to 89.3.

The overall Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) score declined slightly from 90.9 to 90.7.

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Next Big Bank Merger in India: This PSU Banks Under Government Watch

A bank merger is making headlines once more. A new committee for the merging of public sector banks may shortly be established by the finance minister, according to media sources.

The government may combine 12 state-run banks into five and increase their foreign participation cap to 49%, according to sources and media reports. M. Nagaraju, a former secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), could lead the committee.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) is currently capped at 20% and requires prior government approval. The government must maintain a minimum 51% shareholding to retain public control.

The 20% FDI is allowed strictly through the government approval route. Individual foreign shareholder voting rights are currently capped at 10% to prevent them from taking strategic management control. In contrast to PSBs, private sector banks allow up to 74% FDI (49% via the automatic route and up to 74% through the government route).

The Union budget for FY27 had proposed a committee to chart “Banking for Viksit Bharat,” aimed at improving efficiency, governance and competitiveness among PSBs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said reforms will help align public sector banks “with India’s next phase of growth, while safeguarding financial stability, inclusion and consumer protection.”

The committee may comprise up to five members, including current DFS secretary Sanjay Lohiya. A former chairman of the State Bank of India and a former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are also being considered for the committee.

On 1 April 2020, the government merged 10 PSBs into four larger banks. Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India were amalgamated with Punjab National Bank; Allahabad Bank merged with Indian Bank; Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank; and Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank with Union Bank of India.

Earlier, in April 2019, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank were merged with Bank of Baroda. The consolidation drive reduced the number of public sector banks from 27 in 2017 to 12 by 2020, aiming to improve operational efficiency, risk management, capital utilization and lending capacity.

The new committee may also recommend raising the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap of 20% in PSBs to as much as 49% to attract global capital and strengthen banks’ balance sheets.

Earlier, it was reported that the finance ministry is drawing up a fresh blueprint to merge select public sector banks.

There were discussions around a potential merger of Union Bank of India and Bank of India and merger of Indian Overseas Bank and Indian Bank.

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Canara Bank Q4 Profit falls 10%

Canara Bank on May 11 reported a 12.7 percent rise in net profit as at the end of the fiscal year ending March 2026 to Rs 19,187 crore, as compared to Rs 17,027 crore as at the end of March 2025. For Q4 FY26, the PSU lender posted a net profit Rs 4,506 crore, as compared to Rs 5,004 crore in Q4 FY25.

The bank posted a moderation in net interest margin (NIM) in tandem with most major banks for the quarter. The margins for Q4 FY26 was at 2.54 percent, as compared to 2.73 percent in the prior corresponding quarter.

Canara Bank's asset quality improved throughout the year. The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio for the March quarter came in at 1.84 percent for Q4 FY26, as compared to 2.94 percent in Q4FY25. On a sequential basis, the GNPA improved by 24 basis points from 2.08 percent in Q3 FY26. The net non-performing asset (NNPA) ratio for the March quarter came in at 0.43 percent, versus 0.70 percent in Q4 FY25.

Provisions also declined significantly on a sequential and year-on-year basis for the quarter. In Q4, the provisions were at Rs 2,252 crore, as compared to Rs 3,964 crore in Q3 FY26 and Rs 3,280 crore in Q4 FY25.

The bank posted a common equity ratio of 12.44 percent for March 2026, as compared to 12.03 percent in March 2025.

Canara Bank's domestic deposits stood at Rs 14,36 lakh crore as at March 2026, growing 7.95 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, while advances stood at Rs 11.61 lakh crore as at March 202, rising 15.12 percent on a YoY basis.

The bank ended the year with a return on assets (RoA) of 1.10 percent as of the end of March 2026, a slight improvement from 1.09 percent in March 2025.

Shares of the lender were trading 3.85 percent lower at Rs 129.17 apiece as of 1345 IST.

The bank declared dividend of Rs 4.2 per share

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Bank of Baroda(BoB) Q4 results: Profit jumps 11% YoY

 Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Friday, 8 May, reported an 11.25% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its standalone net profit to ₹5,615.68 crore for the January-March quarter of the financial year 2026 (Q4FY26). In the same quarter of the previous financial year, BoB's profit was ₹5,047.73 crore.

Sequentially, or on a quarter-on-quarter basis, BoB's profit rose by 11% from ₹5,054.63 crore in Q3FY26.

Operating income during the quarter under review climbed 1.4% YoY to ₹16,460 crore, while operating profit jumped 11.5% YoY to ₹9,069 crore in Q4FY26.

For the entire financial year 2026, BoB's standalone profit rose by 2.25% to ₹20,021.06 crore from ₹19,581.15 crore in FY25.

Meanwhile, the PSU bank's board recommended a dividend of ₹8.50 per share for FY26. The record date for the purpose is 5 June 2026.

BoB's net interest income (NII) rose by 8.7% YoY to ₹12,494 crore, while global net interest margin (NIM) eased to 2.89% in Q4FY26 from 2.98% in Q4FY25.

Total provisions (excluding taxes) and contingencies saw a sharp 103% YoY jump to ₹3,150 crore in Q4FY26. In the same quarter last year, it was ₹1,552 crore.

Domestic deposits grew by 12.8% YoY to ₹14,01,290 crore, while domestic advances also saw an impressive growth of 14.5% YoY to ₹11,69,458 crore.

BoB's domestic CASA increased by 9.8% YoY to ₹5,45,034 crore.

Bank of Baroda reported a decline in non-performing assets (NPA) for the March quarter. While gross NPA eased to 1.89% from 2.26% YoY, net NPA also dropped to 0.45% from 0.58% YoY.

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