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IDBI Bank employees stage two-day hunger strike against privatisation

Nationwide · pinned on Delhi, India · since Nov 2, 2026

Is it still on?

YESDay 1 and counting, since Nov 2.

Last report · checked

The Tea in three lines

Why they are protesting
IDBI Bank employees protest the cabinet's approval of selling a 60 percent stake in the profitable public sector bank to a Canadian firm.
What they want
Protesters demand stopping the privatisation, keeping government holding at 51%, and protecting employment conditions and reservations.
What changed
Nov 2: IDBI Bank employees and officers initiated a two-day hunger strike across November 2 and 3.
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Both sides

What protesters want

  • Stop the privatisation and sale of the bank to a private entity
  • Have the Centre buy at least another 6 percent to keep its holding at 51 percent
  • Provide a written statutory assurance protecting service conditions, welfare measures, and pension entitlements
  • Maintain reservation policies and offer staff an option to move to other public sector banks without losing seniority and retirement…

Organised by: All India IDBI Bank Officers' Association, All India Industrial Development Bank Employees' Association, United Forum of IDBI Officers and Employees

What authorities say

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended the bidding process stating all due process was followed. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management stated the reserve price was handled properly and the revised process raised discovered bid values.2

The full story

IDBI Bank officers and employees initiated a two-day relay hunger strike on November 2 and 3, 2026, to protest the planned strategic sale of a majority stake in the public sector bank to a Canadian company, Fairfax Financial Holdings. Organised by associations including the All India IDBI Bank Officers' Association and the All India Industrial Development Bank Employees' Association under the United Forum of IDBI Officers and Employees, the agitation challenges the cabinet decision approved on October 14. Protesters voiced anxieties regarding future job security, recruitment policies, service conditions, and the potential loss of social security benefits and reservation provisions. The unions demanded that the Centre halt the sale, maintain a 51 percent stake, and provide statutory assurances for staff. The government defended the disinvestment process, while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted that the bank was successfully recapitalised before being prepared for its next phase of growth.

Timeline

  1. IDBI Bank employees launched a two-day hunger strike on November 2 and 3 against the privatisation plan.12

  2. The government approved the sale of a combined 60.72 percent stake in IDBI Bank to a Fairfax Financial Holdings subsidiary.12

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