The Ministry of Finance has announced the fourth phase of amalgamation for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), marking a significant milestone in India’s banking reforms.
The initiative, driven by the “One State, One RRB” principle, aims to enhance scale efficiency, rationalize costs, and streamline operations to better serve rural and semi-urban areas.
Under the new structure, 26 RRBs across 10 states and 1 Union Territory will merge, reducing the total number of RRBs from 43 to 28. Post-amalgamation, these banks will operate over 22,000 branches across 700 districts, ensuring greater accessibility and coverage in rural India.
This move builds on previous amalgamation phases:
- Phase 1 (2006–2010): Reduced RRBs from 196 to 82.
- Phase 2 (2013–2015): Reduced RRBs from 82 to 56.
- Phase 3 (2019–2021): Reduced RRBs from 56 to 43.
The government remains committed to optimizing the rural banking framework, which has seen progressive restructuring over the years. By enhancing operational efficiency, the amalgamation is expected to strengthen financial services in underserved regions while bolstering the overall banking sector.
As per the gazette notification, RRBs in 11 states — Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan — are to be merged into one entity, respectively, for each of these to realise the goal of ‘one state-one RRB’.
The effective date for amalgamation has been fixed May 1, as per the gazette notification dated April 5, 2026.
