India’s Public Sector Banks Merger: The Centre is mulling over consolidating public-sector banks, and officials involved in the process say the long-term plan could eventually bring down the number of state-owned lenders from 12 to possibly just 4. The goal is to build a banking system that is large enough in scale, has deeper capital strength and is prepared to meet the credit needs of a fast-growing economy.

The minister explained that bigger banks are better equipped to support large-scale lending and long-term projects. “The country’s economy is moving rapidly toward the $5 trillion mark. The government is active in building bigger banks that can meet rising requirements,” she said.

Why India Wants Larger Banks

Sitharaman recently confirmed that the government and the Reserve Bank of India have already begun detailed conversations on another round of mergers. She said the focus is on creating “world-class” banks that can support India’s expanding industries, rising infrastructure investments and overall credit demand.

She clarified that this is not only about merging institutions. The government and RBI are working on strengthening the entire banking ecosystem so that banks grow naturally and operate in a stable environment.

According to her, the core aim is to build stronger, more efficient and globally competitive banks that can help sustain India’s growth momentum.

At present, the country has a total of 12 public sector banks: the State Bank of India (SBI), the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Bank of Baroda, the Canara Bank, the Union Bank of India, the Bank of India, the Indian Bank, the Central Bank of India, the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and the UCO Bank.

What Happens To Employees After Merger?

Whenever bank mergers are discussed, employees become anxious. A merger does not only combine balance sheets; it also brings together different work cultures, internal systems and employee expectations.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, several mergers caused discomfort among staff, including dissatisfaction over new roles, delayed promotions and uncertainty about reporting structures. Some officers who were promoted before mergers found their seniority diluted afterward, which created further frustration.

The finance minister addressed the concerns, saying that the government and the RBI are working together on the merger plan. She stressed that earlier rounds of consolidation had been successful. She added that the country now needs large, global-quality banks “where every customer issue can be resolved”. The focus, she said, is firmly on building world-class institutions.

‘No Layoffs, No Branch Closures’

She made one point unambiguous: no employee will lose their job due to the upcoming merger phase. She said that mergers are part of a natural process of strengthening banks, and this will not affect job security.

She also assured that no branches will be closed and no bank will be shut down as part of the consolidation exercise.

India last carried out a major consolidation drive in 2019-20, reducing the number of public-sector banks from 21 to 12. That round improved the financial health of many lenders.

With the government preparing for the next phase, the goal is clear. India wants large and reliable banks that can support a rapidly growing economy and meet the needs of a country expanding faster than ever.

Stock market holidays for December: As November comes to a close and the final month of the year begins, investors will want to know on which days trading sessions will be there and on which days stock markets are closed. are likely keeping a close eye on year-end portfolio adjustments, global cues, and corporate earnings.For this year, the only major, away from normal scheduled market holidays in December is Christmas, observed on Thursday, December 25. On this day, Indian stock markets, including the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE), will remain closed across equity, derivatives, and securities lending and borrowing (SLB) segments. Trading in currency and interest rate derivatives segments will continue as usual.Markets are expected to reopen on Friday, December 26, as investors return to monitor global developments and finalize year-end positioning. Apart from weekends, Christmas is the only scheduled market holiday this month, making December relatively quiet compared with other festive months, with regards to stock markets.The last trading session in November, which was November 28 (next two days being the weekend) ended flat. BSE Sensex slipped 13.71 points, or 0.02 per cent, to settle at 85,706.67, after hitting an intra-day high of 85,969.89 and a low of 85,577.82, a swing of 392.07 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty fell 12.60 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 26,202.95, halting its two-day rally.

In a bid to provide relief to petroleum consumers, the government has reduced prices of petroleum products by up to Rs4.79 per litre for the next fortnight, according to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division late Sunday night.

The notification stated that the price adjustments were made based on recommendations from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

“The new prices will take effect from December 1, 2025, and remain in force for the next 15 days,” the notification said. Petrol prices have been cut by 2 rupees per litre, bringing the price down from 265.45 rupees to 263.45 rupees per litre.

High-speed diesel prices have also been reduced by 4.79 rupees per litre. The new price for high-speed diesel is 279.65 rupees per litre, down from the previous 284.44 rupees per litre.

High-speed diesel is widely used in the transport and agriculture sectors. Therefore, a reduction in its price will have a large impact on the lives of the people. Petrol is used in motorbikes and cars, and Punjab province is its key user due to the ban on the use of indigenous gas in CNG stations.

Kerosene oil is used for cooking purposes mainly in the northern part of the country, where LPG is not available. The government is currently charging a higher rate of taxes, which includes the petroleum levy (PL). The consumers are currently paying Rs75.41 per litre petroleum levy (PL) and Rs2.50 per litre CSL on high-speed diesel.

The consumers are also paying Rs97.62 per litre petroleum levy (PL) and Rs2.50 per litre CSL on petrol. There is no sales tax on these products.

The federal government had increased the rate of petroleum levy to pocket the entire tax collection on petroleum products. The sales tax collection moves to provinces, and therefore, the government had reduced sales tax to zero to deprive the provinces of the sales tax collection.

The petroleum levy was also supposed to invest in the development of the oil sector, like building oil storage in the country. However, the governments have been using the collection to meet their current expenditures.