The Lok Sabha has passed the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017. The bill seeks to repeal the two Acts namely State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956. It also seeks to amend the State Bank of India Act,1955 to remove references to subsidiary banks and powers of SBI to act as an agent of the RBI for a subsidiary banks. <br/> <br/>Replying to a debate on the Bill, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar said, five subsidiary banks of SBI were merged with it in April this year and with this State Bank of India has become one of the 50 biggest banks of the world. He said, the main motive behind the merger is to increase the capital base of the bank to enable it to disburse more loans. He said, now it has become capable of taking on private banks. Mr Gangwar said the decision of merger was taken in public interest and its dividends will be visible soon. <br/> <br/>AIR correspondent reports, in February, the Cabinet had approved the merger of five associate banks with SBI. The banks are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Patiala. After the acquisition by SBI, the subsidiaries banks have ceased to exist and, therefore, it was necessary to repeal the two Acts.