Now Reading: EAC-PM paper says public banks more efficient than private
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EAC-PM paper says public banks more efficient than private
Public sector banks are more efficient than private and foreign banks, a working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has found. The paper, authored by EAC-PM part-time…
Public sector banks are more efficient than private and foreign banks, a working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has found. The paper, authored by EAC-PM part-time member Soumya Kanti Ghosh and economist Tapas Kumar Parida, studied 47 banks covering over 95 per cent of banking assets from FY15 to FY26. It measured efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis, scoring each bank between 0 and 100 per cent.
PSBs' average efficiency improved to 93.12 per cent in FY26 from 72.46 per cent in FY20, outperforming private banks, which stood at 86 per cent. Foreign banks remained at 83-85 per cent. Among individual lenders, SBI scored 97.49 per cent, HDFC Bank 97.54 per cent and JP Morgan and HSBC ranked top among foreign banks. The paper credited capital infusion and digital upgrades for the PSB turnaround.
Separately, the Times of India reports that the same paper calls for further bank consolidation to create a few large institutions without compromising competition, arguing India needs globally competitive lenders to meet credit demand as it targets developed nation status by 2047.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Source-1 (thehindubusinessline.com) offers a straight data report, leading with the punchline, PSBs more efficient than private, and foregrounding the paper's efficiency scores. Source-2 (Times of India) frames the same paper around a policy call for bank mergers to create global-scale institutions. The difference is audience: one presents the academic finding as news, the other extracts the actionable government advisory. Neither is critical or pro-government, both are neutral in tone. The balanced reading is that the paper's primary news is the efficiency ranking, but the Times’ merger angle signals a likely policy direction. The government, if it acts, will cite this paper as evidence.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
