Public sector banks (PSBs) must reach out to campuses, universities and skill centres to bring young Indians into the formal financial system for the next phase of growth, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told PSB chiefs on Tuesday, proposing a month-long ‘Banking for Youth’ campaign beginning October 2.
She said banks should move toward a life-cycle approach to build long-term relationships from ‘campus to career’. To attract tech-savvy users—noting that 66% of UPI transactions are made by those aged 18–29—banks should offer lifestyle-linked benefits such as vouchers for fitness and wellness platforms.
“UPI and on-demand digital services are already familiar to them. They expect banking to be simple, intuitive, personalised, and available cool,” Sitharaman said addressing the PSB Confluence 2026 here, pointing out that private banks seem to be cool enough.
India’s young population will increasingly shape the country’s patterns of consumption, savings, investments, entrepreneurship and wealth creation, Sitharaman said, adding that early engagement with them is both a responsibility and a “significant opportunity” for banks.
The proposed campaign, beginning on Gandhi Jayanti, should target citizens aged 16 and above and “actively reach young people at the start of their financial journey”, bringing them into the formal banking system. Banks should take the engagement to campuses rather than wait for young customers to visit branches, with colleges, universities and skill-building institutions serving as key touchpoints for account opening and financial awareness.
The finance minister also suggested dedicated youth banking spaces such as ‘Yuva Kiosks’ or ‘Yuva Banking Mitra’ at branches, where employees could help young customers navigate banking, credit products, credit scores and government schemes.
She called for a web- and mobile-friendly youth banking portal that could provide simple guidance on KYC, safe banking, education, skilling, finance and entrepreneurship. The portal could also direct users to nearby PSB branches to access services, including Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts, while using quizzes, graphics, certificates and other interactive features to gamify financial awareness.
“The campaign should be the starting point for sustained engagement with young customers,” she said, urging PSBs to become the “first and most trusted choice” for young Indians as they move through education, employment, entrepreneurship, investment and wealth creation.
On Priority Sector Lending (PSL), she said success should be measured not merely through numerical targets but by whether credit is timely, adequate and productive. Banks should expand targeted agricultural finance, particularly for pulses and oilseeds, while aligning lending with the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana.
Agricultural credit must also build climate resilience and reflect local conditions, with particular focus on small and marginal farmers. “There cannot be one-size-fits-all,” Sitharaman said, calling for financing suited to crops, climate, water availability and production conditions.