It was possibly the understatement of the century, wasn't it? The real expression for what she calls the socialist era is possibly the kleptocratic or thievocratic era, whose impact the entire banking system is still trying to absorb. If one tot up the entire defaulted amount since the Independence, one could figure out how the thievocratic political elite brought the grinding poverty to the doorstep of 90% of the population.

And as banks try to limp back to steady treading, they may do well to heed to the FM's advice on specialized banking where the opportunity for growth and profit is unlimited. In this context, she pointed out that the NDA administration was targeting a $2trillion export income for 2030. This could be achieved only if the banks invest in acquiring specialist knowledge for understanding the dynamics of various economic segments and make informed investments in economic accelerators.  Of the $2trillion exports targeted for 2030, $1 trillion will accrue from merchandise and $1 trillion from services exports. “This target cannot be achieved unless banks are going to be nimble, with a sound understanding of various businesses and sectors," she said.

She underlined the need for having four or five banks of the size of SBIs. This was necessitated, according to her, in view of the steady pace of sectoral and financial reforms being planned and executed to provide a critical thrust to the economy before it can take off. “I wish IBA rises to this occasion and provides India the best of financial services," she added.

Banks need to do a lot to provide customer satisfaction, she said. Besides being inclusive in the sense that it should cover even the remotest panchayats linked by optical fiber cables, she stressed the need for enhancing the customer experience for portfolios and offerings 24x7. "The communication world is a lot more agile, 24/7; you need to be real-time".

She exhorted bankers to put flesh and blood in the UPI system. "In the payment world today, Indian UPI has made a very big impression. A RuPay card which was not as glamorous as a foreign card is now accepted in so many different parts of the world," she added. Further digitization of the banking system in remote rural areas would accelerate UPI's popularity and cut the cost involved in physical banking, she pointed out.

Finally, she said that if the Account Aggregator Framework is put to use well, then there won't be any need for specialized credit outreach.

An Account Aggregator (AA) is a type of RBI regulated entity that helps an individual securely and digitally access and share information from one financial institution they have an account with to any other regulated financial institution. The data cannot be shared without the consent of the individual.