The fear that privatisation of banks would undermine financial inclusion is misplaced as professional and board-driven banks serve both national and banking interests effectively, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Delhi School of Economics here, Sitharaman also exuded confidence that the Centre will meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of GDP in FY26, sticking to the laid-out fiscal consolidation glide path. After income tax and Goods and Service Tax reforms, she said, the government’s next goal is to create a new-generation customs tariffs structure.

During an interaction with students, she said, even 50 years after bank nationalisation, financial inclusion fell short of the desired level. Of course, public sector banks did achieve tasks assigned t

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