Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said India is not at a stage where the government can completely exit its holding in the 27 public sector banks. However, he said that his ministry is likely to announce a series of banking reforms "in the days to come". Jaitley was addressing the CNN Asia Business Forum 2016 during the Make in India Week in Mumbai.

Jaitley said that public-sector banks are required because they perform a major role in financial inclusion through their geographical reach. The finance minister added that in order to professionalise the operations of state-run banks, which control over 70% of the industry, the government has already committed to bring down its holding to up to 51%.

The government is committed to zero interference, and keeping an arms-length from these banks and letting the institutions run professionally, Jaitley said. His comments came days after the state-run lenders posted a poor set of earnings for the December quarter. Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank posted the highest losses in Indian banking history, while others like Indian Overseas Bank and Dena Bank were also in the red.