Important Committees Related to Banking: The Short Answer
The banking committees most asked in exams are the Narasimham Committees (1991 and 1998) on banking sector reforms, the Nachiket Mor Committee (2013) on financial inclusion, which led to payments banks and small finance banks, the Urjit Patel Committee (2014), which led to inflation targeting and the Monetary Policy Committee, the P. J. Nayak Committee (2014) on bank boards, and the Bimal Jalan Committee (2019) on the RBI's economic capital framework. Recent additions are the RBI's FREE-AI committee (2025) on artificial intelligence and the Q-SAFE expert committee (2026) on quantum-safe finance.
Key takeaway for bank exams: Questions ask chairman → subject or subject → chairman, sometimes with the year or the main outcome. Learn each committee as a three-part line: name, purpose, result. Recent committees are taken from RBI and PIB releases up to October 2026.
These committees shaped today's banking rules, so read them with important banking acts in India and Basel norms 1, 2, 3 difference.
List of Important Committees Related to Banking (Classic List)
| Committee (Chairman) | Year | Subject | Main outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Young Commission | 1926 | Indian currency and finance | Recommended a central bank, leading to the RBI Act 1934 |
| A. D. Gorwala Committee | 1951 | All India Rural Credit Survey | Recommended converting the Imperial Bank into SBI (1955) |
| C. Rangarajan Committee | 1983–84 | Mechanisation and computerisation of banks | Start of computerisation in banks |
| Sukhamoy Chakravarty Committee | 1985 | Review of the monetary system | Monetary targeting framework |
| S. Vaghul Committee | 1987 | Money market | Development of money market instruments |
| M. N. Goiporia Committee | 1990 | Customer service in banks | Service standards for bank customers |
| M. Narasimham Committee I | 1991 | Financial system reforms | Lower CRR and SLR, prudential norms, entry of new private banks |
| R. N. Malhotra Committee | 1993 | Insurance sector reforms | Opening insurance to private players; IRDA |
| Narasimham Committee II | 1998 | Banking sector reforms | Stronger capital adequacy, NPA norms, bank mergers |
| S. S. Tarapore Committee | 1997 and 2006 | Capital account convertibility | Roadmap for fuller convertibility |
| M. S. Verma Committee | 1999 | Restructuring weak public sector banks | Identified weak banks and remedies |
| C. Rangarajan Committee | 2008 | Financial inclusion | Financial inclusion plans for banks |
| Raghuram Rajan Committee | 2008 | Financial sector reforms | "A Hundred Small Steps" report |
| M. Damodaran Committee | 2010–11 | Customer service in banks | Bank customer rights and grievance rules |
Banking Committees After 2010 (Most Asked in IBPS and SBI)
| Committee (Chairman) | Year | Subject | Main outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nachiket Mor Committee | 2013–14 | Comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low-income households | Payments banks and small finance banks licences (2015) |
| Urjit Patel Committee | 2014 | Revising the monetary policy framework | CPI inflation target of 4% (±2%) and the six-member MPC (2016) |
| P. J. Nayak Committee | 2014 | Governance of bank boards | Bank Board Bureau (2016) |
| Ratan Watal Committee | 2016 | Digital payments | Push for digital payments and a payments regulatory body |
| Sunil Mehta Committee | 2018 | Faster resolution of stressed assets | Project Sashakt |
| Bimal Jalan Committee | 2018–19 | RBI's economic capital framework | ₹1.76 lakh crore surplus and excess capital transfer to the government (2019) |
| U. K. Sinha Committee | 2019 | MSME sector | Measures to ease MSME credit |
| Nandan Nilekani Committee | 2019 | Deepening digital payments | Targets for digital payment adoption |
| K. V. Kamath Committee | 2020 | Resolution Framework for COVID-19 stress | Financial ratios for one-time loan restructuring |
| N. S. Vishwanathan Committee | 2021 | Urban co-operative banks | Four-tier regulatory structure for UCBs |
| Sudarshan Sen Committee | 2021 | Asset Reconstruction Companies | Changes to ARC regulation |
| B. P. Kanungo Committee | 2022–23 | Customer service standards in RBI-regulated entities | Better grievance and customer service norms |
Exam trap: Two committees are named after C. Rangarajan (computerisation in 1983–84 and financial inclusion in 2008). Another, on poverty estimation (2014), is not a banking committee. Read the subject in the question before choosing.
Recent Banking Committees 2025-2026 (Current Affairs)
| Body or committee | Head | When | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREE-AI Committee (Framework for Responsible and Ethical Enablement of AI) | Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharyya (IIT Bombay) | Report August 2025 | Framework for responsible use of AI in the financial sector |
| Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) | RBI Governor (chair) | Constituted 30 September 2025 | Replaced the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS); six members, three nominated by the central government |
| Regulatory Review Cell (RRC) | Inside RBI's Department of Regulation | From 1 October 2025 | Review every RBI regulation once every 5–7 years |
| Advisory Committee on Ways and Means Advances to State Governments | I. S. N. Prasad | Constituted 30 April 2026 | Review the WMA scheme for states |
| Q-SAFE Expert Committee (Quantum Secure and Adaptive Financial Ecosystem) | Dr Anil Prabhakar (IIT Madras), convener | Constituted May 2026 | Roadmap for quantum-safe cryptography in banking and payments |
| High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat | To be announced | Proposed in Union Budget 2026-27 | Comprehensive review of the banking sector |
Sources: RBI press releases and reports (rbi.org.in); PRS India monthly policy review, February 2026, for the Budget proposal. As of 7 October 2026 the government was still working to set up the High Level Committee, so its chairman is not yet an exam fact.
Narasimham Committee 1991 vs 1998: Difference
| Point | Narasimham I (1991) | Narasimham II (1998) |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Committee on the Financial System | Committee on Banking Sector Reforms |
| Set up by | Finance Ministry (August 1991) | Finance Ministry (1997, report 1998) |
| Focus | Freeing banks from controls | Strengthening the banks after the first reforms |
| Key ideas | Cut SLR and CRR, deregulate interest rates, prudential norms (income recognition, asset classification, provisioning), allow new private banks, set up ARCs/special tribunals | Raise capital adequacy, tighter NPA norms, mergers of strong banks, a review of the role of the RBI as owner and regulator |
| Result | New private bank licences (1993) and the DRT law (1993) | Higher CRAR targets and later bank consolidation |
How to Remember Banking Committees (Memory Tricks)
- Mor = More banks → payments banks and small finance banks.
- Patel = Price stability → inflation targeting and the MPC.
- Nayak = Board leader → Bank Board Bureau.
- Jalan = RBI's jholi (pocket) → how much reserve the RBI keeps and how much surplus it transfers.
- Kamath = COVID karza → loan restructuring after COVID-19.
- Narasimham = Number one reforms → the 1991 reforms.
- Malhotra (R. N.) = insurance (do not confuse with current RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra).
- Vishwanathan = UCBs, Sudarshan Sen = ARCs.
Banking Committees Quick Revision Table (Chairman → Subject)
| Chairman | Subject |
|---|---|
| Hilton Young | Central bank for India (1926) |
| A. D. Gorwala | Rural credit survey, creation of SBI |
| M. Narasimham | Financial and banking sector reforms (1991, 1998) |
| R. N. Malhotra | Insurance reforms |
| S. S. Tarapore | Capital account convertibility |
| Nachiket Mor | Financial inclusion; payments banks |
| Urjit Patel | Monetary policy framework; inflation targeting |
| P. J. Nayak | Bank boards; Bank Board Bureau |
| Bimal Jalan | RBI economic capital framework |
| K. V. Kamath | COVID-19 resolution framework |
| N. S. Vishwanathan | Urban co-operative banks |
| Pushpak Bhattacharyya | FREE-AI framework (2025) |
| Anil Prabhakar | Q-SAFE quantum-safe finance (2026) |
Banking Committees Practice Questions (with Answers)
1. Which committee recommended payments banks and small finance banks? Nachiket Mor Committee (2013–14).
2. The CPI inflation target of 4% with a band of ±2% came from which committee? Urjit Patel Committee (2014).
3. The Bank Board Bureau was set up on the recommendation of: P. J. Nayak Committee.
4. Which committee reviewed the RBI's economic capital framework in 2019? Bimal Jalan Committee.
5. Which committee is linked to the creation of the State Bank of India? A. D. Gorwala Committee (All India Rural Credit Survey, 1951).
6. Who headed the committee that set financial ratios for COVID-19 loan restructuring? K. V. Kamath.
7. The FREE-AI committee of the RBI was chaired by: Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharyya.
8. Which committee suggested a four-tier structure for urban co-operative banks? N. S. Vishwanathan Committee (2021).
9. R. N. Malhotra Committee (1993) dealt with reforms in which sector? Insurance.
10. Which RBI expert committee formed in May 2026 studies quantum technology risks? Q-SAFE (Quantum Secure and Adaptive Financial Ecosystem) Committee, convened by Dr Anil Prabhakar.
Important Committees Related to Banking FAQs
Which are the most important committees related to banking in India?
The Narasimham Committees (1991, 1998), Nachiket Mor (2013–14), Urjit Patel (2014), P. J. Nayak (2014), Bimal Jalan (2019), K. V. Kamath (2020) and N. S. Vishwanathan (2021) are asked most often, along with recent RBI committees such as FREE-AI (2025) and Q-SAFE (2026).
What did the Narasimham Committee recommend?
The 1991 committee recommended cutting CRR and SLR, freeing interest rates, prudential norms for NPAs and allowing new private banks. The 1998 committee recommended higher capital adequacy, stricter NPA norms and mergers of strong banks.
Which committee is related to payments banks?
The Nachiket Mor Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households recommended payments banks and small finance banks. The RBI gave in-principle licences in 2015.
Which committee recommended the Monetary Policy Committee?
The Urjit Patel Committee (2014) recommended inflation targeting and a monetary policy committee. The six-member MPC was created through the RBI Act amendment of 2016 (Section 45ZB).
What is the Bimal Jalan Committee about?
It reviewed how much capital and reserves the RBI should hold. Based on it, the RBI transferred ₹1.76 lakh crore to the government in 2019.
Is there a new banking committee in 2026?
The Union Budget 2026-27 proposed a High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat, and the RBI formed the Q-SAFE expert committee in May 2026 and a WMA advisory committee (I. S. N. Prasad) in April 2026.
Practice Next
- Mock tests: IBPS and SBI PO Banking Awareness Mock Test 02, IBPS PO Mains Banking Awareness Mock Test 01, IBPS and SBI Clerk Banking Awareness Mock Test 01 and RBI Functions and Organisation Quiz 01.
- Related notes: important banking acts in India, monetary policy tools of RBI, payments banks list 2026 and small finance banks list 2026.
- Exam details: SBI Clerk 2026 notification and NICL AO recruitment 2026.
- Browse all study notes.