New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday called upon public sector banks to undertake a focused, month-long campaign, commencing from October 2, for youth above 16 years, coordinated through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), to strengthen engagement with young citizens entering the formal financial system. 

The initiative should seek to establish a sustained relationship with young customers and enable banks to support their evolving financial needs as they progress through education, employment, entrepreneurship, investment, and wealth creation, the Finance Minister said in her address at the concluding session of PSB Confluence 2026.

As part of the initiative, a common online portal for youth is envisaged to provide a single point for accessing simple and relevant information on banking services and opportunities relating to education, skilling, and entrepreneurship. The initiative would be complemented by physical outreach through colleges, universities, skill institutions and other campuses, as well as youth-focused engagement spaces.

The Finance Minister also emphasised the importance of Priority Sector Lending (PSL) and the need to pay close attention to shortfalls against individual targets and sub-targets. PSBs were encouraged to maintain their strong focus on PSL through granular monitoring, early identification of emerging gaps and appropriate business strategies, with the objective of minimising shortfalls through genuine and productive credit flow to intended beneficiaries.

Deliberations on Day 2 of the PSB (public sector banks) conference held here focused on agriculture and horticulture value chain infrastructure, priority sector lending and reimagining the credit card business. This was followed by debriefing sessions, where the thematic groups presented actionable strategies and innovative solutions emerging from discussions across all seven themes.

FM Sitharaman emphasised the need to translate the deliberations into tangible outcomes. She called upon public PSBs and PFIs to build on their institutional strength, anticipate emerging opportunities and develop capabilities to support India’s evolving economic requirements.

The Day 2 deliberations also identified opportunities to strengthen financing across agriculture and horticulture value chains, including FPOs, storage, processing, logistics and market linkages. Discussions on Reimagining the Credit Card Business explored strategies around digital onboarding, greater cross-sell to the existing customer base and leveraging opportunities arising from RuPay-UPI integration.

The Secretary, Department of Financial Services, emphasised that the confluence has enabled sharper identification of priorities and clearer actionables across the seven themes. PSBs and PFIs would now need to translate these into implementation with clear ownership and realistic timelines, while successful institutional models could be examined for wider adoption.