India to have One RRB per State from May 2025
From May 1, 2025, each state in India will have only one Regional Rural Bank (RRB) as part of the Finance Ministry's notification to merge 15 RRBs across 11 states. This consolidation will reduce the number of RRBs from 43 to 28.
Starting May 1, each state in the country will have just one Regional Rural Bank (RRB). To facilitate this change, the Finance Ministry has released a notification for the merger of 15 Regional Rural Banks across 11 states.
This marks the fourth phase of RRB consolidation, reducing the number of RRBs from 43 to 28. As per a finance ministry notification, 11 regional rural banks in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan will be merged into one entity.
This will achieve the objective of having one RRB per state. The merger of these RRBs is set to take effect on May 1, 2025. These RRBs will be unified into a single entity under the authority granted by Section 23A(1) of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976.
Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and State Bank of India-sponsored Chaitanya Godavari Grameena Bank, Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank, Saptagiri Grameena Bank and Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank are set to merge into Andhra Pradesh Grameena Bank.
Three Regional Rural Banks in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal will be consolidated into one entity. Baroda U.P. is based in Uttar Pradesh. Aryavart Bank and Prathama U.P. Gramin Bank have been merged to form Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank, headquartered in Lucknow and sponsored by Bank of Baroda.
The West Bengal Gramin Bank, Paschim Banga Gramin Bank, and Uttarbanga Kshetriya Gramin Bank will be consolidated into the West Bengal Gramin Bank. Additionally, two Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in each of the eight states – Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan – will be merged into a single entity.