&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "WION World Pulse | Banking sector poised for 'firm growth', Salee S Nair, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank CEO, lauds reduction of NPAs")
Addressing the WION World Pulse summit on Wednesday (Mar 18), Salee S Nair, MD and CEO of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, expressed optimism at the positive displacement of the Indian banking sector over the decade. He pointed out that the non-performing asset has in Indian banks have changed from 11 per cent in 2015 to 2 per cent in 2025. According to Salee S Nair, India's Banking sector is all “poised for growth” and will shoulder the ambition of the Viksit Bharat by 2047.
“Typically, the banking sector grows as per the nominal GDP growth. The country has its ambition of becoming a Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047. I think we are looking at something like a $30 trillion economy and $18k-$20k per capita. Somebody has to take the bill, and the government can't entirely do that,” said Nair, attending WION World Pulse via video. He predicted an investment boost in the infrastructure of the country, which will in turn boost the ratio of manufacturing to GDP from 16 per cent to 25 per cent.
“Somebody has to finance it, and that's where the banking sector steps in, and that's where we are going to see a lot of activity happening.”
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the 2026 budget, announced a financial overhaul of the NBFCs, a High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat, to align with India’s next phase of growth. India had a significant foreign investment in 2025. There is a minor liquidity scare due to the global trade disruption, but overall India navigates 2026 with high profitability, low non-performing asset and an expectation of credit growth.
