Banking in India and regulations of the Reserve Bank of India, banks in India except the State Bank of India (SBI), remain owned and operated by private persons. By the 1960s, the Indian banking industry had become an important tool to facilitate the development of the Indian economy. At the same time, it had emerged as a large employer, and a debate had ensued about the nationalisation of the banking industry. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, expressed the intention of the Government of India in the annual conference of the All India Congress Meeting in a paper entitled ""Stray thoughts
Banking in India Banking in India Banking in India, in the modern sense, originated in the last decade of the 18th century. Among the first banks were the "Bank of Hindustan", which was established in 1770 and liquidated in 1829–32; and the General Bank of India, established in 1786 but failed in 1791. The largest bank, and the oldest still in existence, is the State Bank of India (S.B.I). It originated and started working as the Bank of Calcutta in mid-June 1806. In 1809, it was renamed as the Bank of Bengal. This was one of the three banks founded by a presidency