When the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deregulated savings bank deposit interest rates in October 2011, it was hailed as a big reformist step that would ensure better returns to depositors. Almost four years have passed and there is hardly any change in the interest rates on such deposits.
When the euphoria of financial inclusion is at its peak, growing defaults by big businesses have brought the focus back on the alarming situation of the Indian banks balance sheets. Declaration of liquor baron Vijay Mallya as a "wilful defaulter" by United Bank of India highlights the growing stress among the banks.