New Delhi, February 10 Foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows in the banking sector have declined from USD 898 million in FY23 to USD 115 million in FY25, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
Total FDI inflows include equity inflows, equity capital of unincorporated bodies, reinvested earnings, and other capital, said Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
FDI is considered a major source of non-debt financial resources for economic development, he said.
He further stated that FDI inflows into India have grown consistently since liberalization and constitute an important component of foreign capital, as FDI infuses long-term sustainable capital into the economy and contributes towards technology transfer, development of strategic sectors, greater innovation, competition, and employment creation, among other benefits.
According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Master Directions on 'Acquisition and holding of shares or voting rights in Banking Companies', if any person acquires shares in a bank resulting in them owning or controlling 5 per cent or more of the bank's paid-up capital, prior approval from the RBI is required.
The Reserve Bank of India has, from time to time, issued various instructions/guidelines to banks to regulate Priority Sector Lending (PSL), which applies to all commercial banks unless otherwise specified, he added.
Sharing details on foreign shareholding, including FDI, FPI/FII/NRI/OCB holdings in public sector banks, Chaudhary said that the foreign holding in State Bank of India (SBI) stood at 11.07 per cent as of March 2025, the highest among state-owned banks.
SBI was followed by Canara Bank with 10.55 per cent as of the end of the 2024-25 financial year, Bank of Baroda at 9.43 per cent, Union Bank of India at 7.48 per cent, and Punjab National Bank at 5.85 per cent, he said.
Responding to another question, Chaudhary stated that more than 56.31 crore Mudra loan accounts, amounting to Rs 37.31 lakh crore, have been disbursed as of January 2, 2026, under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) since the scheme's launch.
The data is being uploaded by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) on the Mudra portal, maintained by Mudra Ltd, he said.
In another response, he said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) receives complaints from investors on various issues, including those relating to misleading claims and advice disseminated by unauthorized persons on social media platforms.
"SEBI has been taking enforcement action, as per extant regulations, against entities providing unregistered investment advisory services, including the issuance of enforcement and interim orders, wherever required. Such actions also include directions for refunds to aggrieved investors," he said.
According to SEBI orders issued since 2024 regarding unregistered investment advisory, the total amount recovered is Rs 665.26 crore, he said.
