IDBI Bank Employees Call Nationwide Hunger Strike Over 60.72% Fairfax Stake Sale

IDBI Bank employees will hold a two-day nationwide hunger strike on November 2 and 3 over the proposed sale of the bank to M/s 10955230 Canada Inc., the parent entity of Fairfax Financial Holdings, the United Forum of IDBI Officers and Employees said. The notice was signed by Devidas Tuljapurkar, Convenor, and Vithal Koteswara Rao and Rathnakar Wankhade, Joint Convenors, of the United Front, TradingView reported.

What the IDBI Bank Unions Are Demanding

The United Forum, comprising the All India IDBI Officers' Association and the All India Industrial Development Bank Employees' Association, demanded the Centre buy a minimum 6 per cent shareholding of the bank, either from LIC of India or from the share market, to maintain minimum 51 per cent shareholding and honour assurances made in both floors of Parliament in December 2003. The United Front also sought a written statutory assurance safeguarding and implementing existing service conditions, welfare measures, pension and reservation policies, and said it will defend the public sector character of employment of all workmen employees and officers of the bank. The strike will be observed across all branches and offices throughout the country, the United Front leaders said.

The notice was issued "without prejudice to our rights to resort to further lawful industrial action, including demonstrations, dharnas, and other trade union activities," the strike notice said. "We remain hopeful that the bank management and the Centre will intervene constructively to resolve the dispute in the interest of employees, depositors, small borrowers and the nation," the notice added. The Centre announced a strategic restructuring of the bank by offering over 60 per cent shares with management control to Canada Inc., which a Finance Ministry statement called the biggest foreign direct investment in India till date. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Canada Inc. as strategic buyer on October 14 for a purchase consideration of ₹52,878 crore for acquisition of 60.72 per cent stake in the bank, comprising 30.48 per cent equity shareholding held by the Centre and 30.24 per cent equity shareholding held by LIC.

IDBI Bank's Leadership and Financial Position

According to akta.pro company records, IDBI Bank's 22nd AGM scheduled for July 21, 2026 will consider the re-appointment of Deputy Managing Director Shri Sumit Phakka and the appointment of two Independent Directors. The same records show IDBI Bank's total business, deposits plus advances, crossed ₹6 lakh crore in FY2025-26, with total deposits of ₹3.47 lakh crore, up 23 per cent year-on-year, and a record profit after tax of ₹9,513 crore, a 27 per cent year-on-year increase. Fairfax Financial submitted a fresh bid at ₹77 per share for the combined 60.7 per cent Government of India and LIC stake in IDBI Bank, reviving the strategic disinvestment process after previous bids fell below the ₹90,000 crore reserve price.

Earlier Moves in the IDBI Bank Sale

On October 17, 2026, the finance ministry clarified that the 2003 IDBI Repeal Act does not restrict the government's stake dilution in IDBI Bank, citing a Delhi High Court ruling that rejected an amendment, The Times of India reported. Rakesh Sharma will continue as IDBI Bank's CEO, with NS Kannan named chairman, after a stop-gap appointment, The Times of India reported on October 17, 2026. The Centre plans to sell a controlling stake in IDBI Bank after it exited the RBI's Prompt Corrective Action Framework, with gross NPAs falling from 31.78 per cent in 2018 to 2.32 per cent in March 2026, BusinessLine reported on October 14, 2026.