4 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Aug 18, 2026 09:47 PM IST
Calling on India’s public sector banks (PSBs) to up their ‘cool’ quotient within the eyes of the nation’s youth with out sacrificing the prudence the enterprise requires, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday stated state-owned lenders ought to organise a month-long marketing campaign beginning October 2 focused on youngsters over the age of 16.
Addressing senior banking officers on the second day of the PSB Confluence convention within the capital, the Finance Minister stated that having grown up with smartphones, the youth as we speak are tech savvy they usually anticipate banking to be easy, intuitive, personalised, and accessible always. And PSBs must maintain tempo with these expectations.
“Pardon me if I say with some liberty, as a result of I take the blame as a lot as all of you, public sector banks nonetheless give the impression of a authorities financial institution,” Sitharaman stated, including that in her interactions with children underneath the age of 25, not one named a PSB wherein that they had an account.
“In my curiosity, I stated, ‘Wow, all of you appear to have personal sector in your thoughts. Why?’ They have been very hesitant to say public sector banks…it’s not ‘cool’. Their expression was this. I would like public sector banks to not be ‘not cool’. Please get some younger folks to speak to you all, what makes you seem cool or at the very least one portion of your banks, once they sit in entrance of the purchasers, be sure that every little thing is ‘cool’.”
On the similar time, Sitharaman cautioned this was not a suggestion from her to PSBs to “go and do one thing to make you all seem ‘cool’ however not financial institution sufficient”. Saying that she didn’t wish to trivialise the difficulty, the Finance Minister stated banking is “critical enterprise” and a stability needed to be struck. “However someplace, personal banks appear to have that image of being banks however cool sufficient as nicely,” she stated.
Organised by the finance ministry’s Division of Monetary Providers, the two-day PSB Confluence assembly noticed discussions throughout seven themes related to the following part of development of the banking and monetary sector. After deposit mobilisation, banking for youth, supporting the funding cycle, and international functionality centres have been mentioned on Monday, the deal with Tuesday was on agriculture and horticulture worth chain infrastructure, precedence sector lending, and reimagining the bank card enterprise.
In her closing remarks, Sitharaman stated participating with the youth early is a vital duty and a major alternative for banks. In direction of this, she stated PSBs ought to launch a month-long ‘Banking for Youth’ marketing campaign from October 2 to actively attain younger folks at first of their monetary journey, carry them into the formal banking system, and “set up an early, significant connection”.
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Highlighting the significance of schools, universities, and skill-building establishments as touchpoints for the marketing campaign, Sitharaman stated devoted youth banking areas akin to ‘Yuva Kiosks’ or Yuva Banking Mitra is also created at bodily financial institution branches, the place a devoted worker might assist the youth navigate their monetary journey. This could embrace constructing consciousness of the formal credit score ecosystem, together with credit score scores, varied financial institution credit score merchandise, authorities credit score schemes, and sensitising children concerning the significance of sustaining good credit score scores and historical past for accountable credit score self-discipline.
“So, public sector banks have to be the primary and essentially the most trusted selection of younger Indians. Both they’re opening their first account, receiving their first wage, pursuing greater training, and beginning an enterprise or making their first funding – you ought to be part of their lives,” the Finance Minister stated.
