IDBI Bank Privatisation Update: RFP to Be Released Soon, Says DFS Secretary

DFS Secretary M.Nagaraju has stated that the privatisation process of IDBI Bank is ongoing and RFP would be released soon. Speaking at the CII Financing Summit, Nagaraju said that including people in the financial system is still a big challenge in India. “We must not forget our rural population,” he said.

The government’s long-pending plan to sell its stake in IDBI Bank is now moving forward. On Tuesday, M. Nagaraju, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services, said that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the sale will be issued soon.

When asked about public sector bank mergers, Nagaraju chose not to comment. But when asked about the IDBI Bank stake sale, he said, “You may soon hear about it in the newspapers.”

The government and LIC together plan to sell 60.72% of their stake in IDBI Bank. This will also transfer the bank’s management control to the new owner. After the transaction, the government is likely to keep about 15% stake, and LIC will hold around 19%. The government has earlier said that the stake sale should be completed by the end of FY26.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 5 had also confirmed that the strategic divestment of IDBI Bank is progressing quickly and is expected to be completed within the current financial year 2026.

In August, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla had shared that qualified bidders had almost finished the due diligence process, which involves carefully examining all the financial and legal details before making a final offer.

The Finance Ministry has set a target of Divestment of Rs.47,000 crore for the year. Out of this, ₹20,000 crore worth of divestment has been achieved in the first quarter of FY26.

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