Regional rural bank


The Regional Rural Banks are government owned scheduled commercial banks of India that operate at the regional level in different states of India. These banks are under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Sponsored Bank and concerned State Government in the ratio of 50:35:15 respectively. They were created to serve rural areas with basic banking and financial services. However, RRBs also have urban branches.
The Government of India enacted the Regional Rural Banks Act in 1976, which led to the establishment of the first five RRBs on 2 October 1975. The first RRB was Prathama Bank, which was sponsored by Syndicate Bank and had its headquarters in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.
The area of operation is limited to the area notified by the government of India covering, and it covers one or more districts in the State. RRBs perform various functions such as providing banking facilities to rural and semi-urban areas, carrying out government operations like disbursement of wages of MGNREGA workers and distribution of pensions, providing para-banking facilities like locker facilities, debit and credit cards, mobile banking, internet banking, and UPI services. There are currently 28 Regional Rural Banks across India; the 'One State-One RRB' strategy, which aims to rationalize costs and streamline operations by consolidating 43 RRBs into 28 banks, it was put into action by the finance ministry from May 1, 2025.

History

Regional rural banks were established under the provisions of an ordinance passed on 26 September 1975 and the RRB Act 1976 to provide sufficient banking and credit facility for agriculture and other rural sectors. As a result, five RRBs were set up on 2 October 1975 on the recommendations of the Narsimhan Committee on Rural Credit, during the tenure of Indira Gandhi's government. The purpose was to include rural areas into the economic mainstream since around 70% of the Indian population was rural.
Prathama Bank, with head office in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh was the first RRB. It was sponsored by Syndicate Bank and had an authorized capital of Rs. 5 crore. The other four RRBs were Gaur Gramin Bank, Gorakhpur Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Haryana Kshetriya Gramin Bank, and Jaipur-Nagaur Anchalik Gramin Bank.
The RRBs were owned by the central government, state government, and the sponsoring bank with 50%, 15%, and 35% shareholding respectively.

Recapitalization

A review of the RRBs in August 2009 by the Union Finance Minister revealed that a large number of RRBs had a low Capital to Risk weighted Assets Ratio. A committee was constituted in September 2009 under the chairmanship of K C Chakrabarty, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India to analyse the financials of the RRBs and suggest measures, including re-capitalisation to bring the CRAR of RRBs to at least 9% in a sustainable manner by 2012. The committee submitted its report in May 2010.
The committee recommended RRBs to have a CRAR of at least 7% on 31 March 2011 and at least 9% from 31 March 2012 onwards. The recapitalization requirement of Rs 2,200.00 crore for 40 of the 82 RRBs were to be released in two installments in 2010–11 and 2011–12. The remaining 42 RRBs will not require any capital and will be able to maintain CRAR of at least 9% as of 31 March 2012 and thereafter, on their own. A fund of ₹100 crore to be set up for training and capacity building of the RRB staff.
The Government of India approved the recapitalization of the RRBs to improve their CRAR in the following manner:
  • Share of central government, that is, ₹1,100 crore will be released as per provisions made by the Department of Expenditure in 2010-11 and 2011–12. However, release of the funds will be contingent on proportionate release of the state government and sponsor bank share.
  • A capacity building fund with a corpus of ₹100 crore to be set up by central government with NABARD for training and capacity building of the RRB staff in the institution of NABARD and other reputed institutions. The functioning of the fund will be periodically reviewed by the central government. An action plan will be prepared by NABARD and sent to the government for approval.
  • An additional amount of ₹700 crore was set up as a contingency fund to meet the requirement of the weak RRBs, particularly those in the north-eastern and the eastern region.

Organizational structure

Amalgamation

RRBs periodically go through a process of amalgamation. In January 2013, 25 RRBs were amalgamated into 10 RRBs, totaling 67 RRBs. In March 2016, there were 56 RRBs, covering 525 districts with a network of 14,494 branches. In April 2020, there were 43 RRBs. As of 1 May 2025, there are 28 RRBs covering with a network of 22,966 branches in India.

Legal significance

RRBs are recognized by the law and they have legal significance. The Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 Act No. 21 of 1976 reads:

List of RRBs

There are 28 regional rural banks in India, as of 1 January 2026.
StateBank nameEstablishedHeadquartersBranchesSponsor bankOfficial Website
Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh Grameena Bank2025Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh1,351Union Bank of Indiahttps://apgb.bank.in
Arunachal PradeshArunachal Pradesh Rural Bank1983Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh34State Bank of Indiahttps://aprb.bank.in
AssamAssam Gramin Bank2019Guwahati, Assam473Punjab National Bankhttps://agvb.bank.in
BiharBihar Gramin Bank2025Patna, Bihar2,885Punjab National Bankhttps://bgb.bank.in
ChhattisgarhChhattisgarh Gramin Bank2013Raipur, Chhattisgarh626State Bank of Indiahttps://cgb.bank.in
GujaratGujarat Gramin Bank2025Vadodara, Gujarat744Bank of Barodahttps://ggb.bank.in
HaryanaHaryana Gramin Bank2013Rohtak, Haryana690Punjab National Bankhttp://shgb.bank.in
Himachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh Gramin Bank2013Mandi, Himachal Pradesh265Punjab National Bankhttps://hpgb.bank.in
Jammu And KashmirJammu and Kashmir Grameen Bank2025Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir330Jammu & Kashmir Bankhttps://jkgrameen.bank.in
JharkhandJharkhand Gramin Bank2019Ranchi, Jharkhand450State Bank of Indiahttps://jrgbank.bank.in
KarnatakaKarnataka Grameena Bank2025Ballari, Karnataka1,750Canara Bankhttps://karnatakagb.bank.in
KeralaKerala Grameena Bank2013Malappuram, Kerala635Canara Bankhttps://kgb.bank.in
Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh Gramin Bank2025Indore, Madhya Pradesh1,320Bank of Indiahttps://mpgb.bank.in
MaharashtraMaharashtra Gramin Bank2025Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra748Bank of Maharashtra
ManipurManipur Rural Bank1981Imphal, Manipur28Punjab National Bankhttps://manipurrural.bank.in
MeghalayaMeghalaya Rural Bank1981Shillong, Meghalaya89State Bank of Indiahttps://meghalayaruralbank.bank.in
MizoramMizoram Rural Bank1983Aizawl, Mizoram105State Bank of Indiahttps://mrb.bank.in
NagalandNagaland Rural Bank1983Kohima, Nagaland12State Bank of India
OdishaOdisha Grameen Bank2025Bhubaneswar, Odisha979Indian Overseas Bankhttps://odishabank.bank.in
PuducherryPuducherry Grama Bank2008Pondicherry, Puducherry48Indian Bank
https://pygb.bank.in
PunjabPunjab Gramin Bank2019Kapurthala, Punjab458Punjab National Bankhttps://pgb.bank.in
RajasthanRajasthan Gramin Bank2025Jaipur, Rajasthan1,596State Bank of Indiahttps://rgb.bank.in
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu Grama Bank2019Salem, Tamil Nadu682Indian Bankhttps://tngb.bank.in
TelanganaTelangana Grameena Bank2025Hyderabad, Telangana934State Bank of Indiahttps://tgb.bank.in
TripuraTripura Gramin Bank1976Agartala, Tripura154Punjab National Bankhttps://tripuragramin.bank.in
Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh Gramin Bank2025Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh4,330Bank of Barodahttps://upgb.bank.in
UttarakhandUttarakhand Gramin Bank2012Dehradun, Uttarakhand290State Bank of Indiahttps://ukgb.bank.in
West BengalWest Bengal Gramin Bank2025Kolkata, West Bengal960Punjab National Bankhttps://wbgb.bank.in