Sitharaman Cites Poverty Decline Amid IDBI Bank Sale Dispute

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman praised a World Bank October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief, which identifies India as having one of the fastest poverty declines globally. Sitharaman noted that 49.6 crore people moved above the lower-middle-income poverty line between 2011 and 2023, while extreme poverty fell from 27.1% to 2.6%. The report further detailed employment growth of 13.4 crore people from 2017 to 2023 and electricity access reaching 99% of the population by 2022.

Parallel to these economic reports, a political dispute emerged over the government's approved sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank to Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings for approximately Rs 53,000 crore. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opposed the disinvestment, arguing that public banks should serve as tools for nation-building rather than assets for sale.

Sitharaman defended the transaction by claiming the previous Congress-led government forced IDBI Bank to issue imprudent loans to connected business groups. She stated that these actions necessitated a government recapitalization of over Rs 25,000 crore to revive the institution.