RAS question
The total number of Scheduled Commercial Banks in India is approximately:
Correct answer: (A) About 140.
India has about 140 Scheduled Commercial Banks, with RBI's current fortnight statement placing the number at 135.
Explanation
The RBI's Scheduled Bank's Statement of Position in India is the official anchor for this count. In the latest cited statement, the Scheduled Commercial Banks category expressly includes RRBs, SFBs and PBs, and the page records the number of Scheduled Commercial Banks for the current fortnight as 135. That makes the examination answer 'about 140', not an exact administrative total to be memorised in isolation. The given breakdown also fits this broad size: public sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks, Regional Rural Banks, small finance banks promoted to universal banks, and other scheduled commercial banking institutions together put the system close to 140 banks.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) About 50 is too low because the RBI count itself is 135, even before treating the question as an approximate figure.
- (C) About 200 overstates the category, since the RBI's current-fortnight figure is 135 rather than a number near 200.
- (D) About 80 is also too low; the official RBI statement places Scheduled Commercial Banks well above that level at 135.
Concept
This tests the structure of India's banking system under Indian Economy, especially the scheduled commercial banking category used in RBI data. RAS repeats such questions because banking classifications link static economy facts with current RBI releases.