In the second round of bank nationalisation in April 1980, how many banks were nationalised?

The correct answer is C, 1955. The All India Rural Credit Survey Committee found that rural credit needed a bank with a nationwide branch network, so Parliament passed the State Bank of India Act, 1955, and the Imperial Bank of India was taken over and renamed the State Bank of India with effect from 1 July 1955. The Imperial Bank itself had been formed in 1921 by joining the presidency banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras.

Option A, 1947, is the year of independence and of no banking statute of this kind. Option B, 1965, is far too late; by then the State Bank already had its associate banks under the Act of 1959. Option D, 1950, is the year the Constitution came into force, and candidates pick it by association. Note also that 1949 was the year the Reserve Bank was nationalised, which is a different event from the creation of the State Bank.

The correct answer is A, 1990. SIDBI was set up under the Small Industries Development Bank of India Act, 1989 and began operations in 1990 as the principal financial institution for the promotion, financing and development of micro, small and medium enterprises. It started as a subsidiary of IDBI and its head office is at Lucknow, which is itself a frequently asked detail.

Option B, 1988, is the year before the Act and is a common trap. Option C, 1992, is the year the Securities and Exchange Board of India became a statutory body, and Option D, 1994, is the year the first new generation private banks were licensed after the Narasimham Committee report. Keeping the development institutions in order helps: NABARD in 1982, SIDBI in 1990, and the National Housing Bank in 1988, each set up by its own Act of Parliament.

The correct answer is C, Fourteen. On 19 July 1969 the government promulgated an ordinance nationalising fourteen major commercial banks, each of which held deposits of fifty crore rupees or more. The list included Central Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Syndicate Bank, Dena Bank, United Bank of India, United Commercial Bank and Bank of Maharashtra.

Option A, six, is the number nationalised in the second round of 15 April 1980. Option B, eight, matches no round, although the State Bank group once had seven associate banks. Option D, twenty, is the sum of the two rounds, fourteen plus six, and is the distractor that catches most candidates. Remember the pairs as fourteen in 1969 with fifty crore rupees, and six in 1980 with two hundred crore rupees.

The correct answer is B, 1 January 1949. The Reserve Bank of India began as a shareholders' institution in 1935 and was taken into full government ownership from 1 January 1949 under the Reserve Bank of India (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948. From that date the entire share capital of the central bank has been held by the Union government.

Option A, 1 April 1935, is the day the Reserve Bank began operations under the RBI Act, 1934, following the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission, but it was then privately held. Option C, 1 July 1955, is the day the Imperial Bank became the State Bank of India. Option D, 19 July 1969, is the date of the first round of commercial bank nationalisation. All four dates belong to this topic, which is why the question is set as a list of them.

The correct answer is A, New Bank of India. New Bank of India, one of the six banks nationalised in 1980, ran into heavy losses and was amalgamated with Punjab National Bank in 1993. It was the first time one nationalised bank was merged into another, and for years it stood alone as an example of consolidation in the public sector.

Option B, Oriental Bank of Commerce, was indeed merged into Punjab National Bank, but in the round that took effect on 1 April 2020, not in 1993. Option C, United Bank of India, was merged into Punjab National Bank in that same 2020 round. Option D, Nedungadi Bank, was a small private bank of Kerala that was merged into Punjab National Bank in 2003. All three wrong options did eventually join Punjab National Bank, so only the year decides the answer.