The Indian government does not expect to conclude the sale of IDBI Bank Limited (NSEI:IDBI) by the end of the financial year on March 31, 2024, a top finance ministry official told reporters. The federal government, which owns 45.48% of IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (NSEI:LICI), which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender. Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS), Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa-backed CSB Bank (CSBB.NS) and Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) have submitted initial bids for a majority stake in IDBI Bank and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been vetting bidders since April.

"We practically don't think that before March we can conclude (the sale of IDBI Bank)," said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management. Pandey added that the RBI was still conducting the vetting process. The government had previously expected that process to be completed by the end of October, raising market hopes that the sale could close by the end of March.

The sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank has been seen as a first step towards privatising other state-run banks, and delaying the deal means the government will likely miss its divestment target of INR 510 billion by a bigger margin.