Finance Minister Jaswant Singh today said more licences would be granted to set up private banks, to further open up the financial sector.
The Reserve Bank of India had in January 2002 approved in principle the proposals of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd and Rabobank India to set up banks.
Delivering the keynote address at the India Economic Summit 2003, organised by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry, Singh said new guidelines on the shareholding pattern in private banks would be issued soon.
The inflation rate would remain at about 4 per cent this fiscal, the minister said, adding that it was expected to come down further.
