A sound and effective banking system helps in the building of a healthy economy of a country. India is not an outlier in this respect. The Indian banking sector has also undergone changes. These changes have given a sound industrial structure in the country. Further, to strengthen the structure, the Indian government liberalized the industry in the year 1991. This liberalization gave entry to many foreign players. It also helped many domestic players to establish themselves in the industry. Today, all public sector and private sector banks (both Indian and foreign) compete with each other. The main thrust of the paper is to find out how age and size of banks affect their growth performance. The paper contributes to the existing literature in the area and encourages future research.

The banking system needs to be sound and effective for a healthy economy (RBI Bulletin, 2007). It should also be effective in terms of applying updated and new technology. It should be capable of handling the various external and internal factors efficiently to remain competitive in the global market.

In the past three decades, the Indian banking sector has had several achievements to its credit. The most outstanding achievement is its widespread reach throughout the country. Indian banks have also spread across the world. The government's regular intervention and policies since 1969 have paid rich dividends. The Indian government successfully nationalized 14 major private banks under a nationalization regime. Until 1980, the Indian government had successfully brought 80% of the country's banking system under its direct control. As a result, the country witnessed 800% increase in the number of bank branches and 11,000% jump in total bank deposits and advances.

Post liberalization, i.e., after 1991, the government's liberal policies towards the financial sector in the country brought in a drastic change in the country's banking sector. Many Indian and private banks came forward and flooded the Indian market with their branches and ATMs. Phone banking and net banking were also introduced. The system became more convenient. Until now, the Indian banking sector has shown a considerable amount of flexibility. It has protected itself from emergencies triggered by external macroeconomic shocks, even as the banking sector in other East Asian countries suffered.

Bank Management Journal, Indian Banks, Private Sector Banks, Financial Sectors, Public Sector Banks, Global Market, Post Liberalization, Phone Banking, Indian Banking Sectors, Data Envelopment Analysis, Economic Development, Banking Corporations, Multivariate Regression Analysis.