India will not ease foreign banks' entry and expansion rules as was suggested in a report on the roadmap for foreign banks presence released in February 2005.
The committee on India's Financial Sector — An Assessment, has said the current approach to licencing foreign banks in India is reasonable.
"The current approach towards foreign banks is reasonable, but we do have to go further and take a well considered approach for their entry in India by adhering to the WTO committee norms,” said Rakesh Mohan, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the chairman of CFSA.
“The entry and expansion of foreign banks in India needs to be gradual and without causing serious imbalances,” he said.
Bankers attribute the minimal impact of the global financial turmoil on countires like India in the Asian region to minimal presence of foreign banks.