All fit candidates should be allowed to set up banks

..........Assuming that this committee will be given three months to scrutinize the applications, RBI will take a look at them in October and it is anybody’s guess when it will issue the first licence. Unlike in 2001, when the central bank had made it clear that “the number of licences to be issued in the next three years may be restricted to two or three of the best acceptable proposals”, this time it is silent on how many new banks it wants in the system. It merely says the licences will be issued on a “very selective basis” and RBI may not be in a position to give licences to all applications which meet the eligibility criteria. So, an element of subjectivity in the final selection cannot be ruled out even though RBI is committed to handle it transparently—the names of the applicants will be put on its website...........

Read Mint