Are commercial banks in India operating efficiently? Evidence from data envelopment analysis

Purpose The banking sector constitutes the foundation of a nation's financial system. The Indian banking, comprising three groups, public, private, and foreign banks, reflects differences in ownership structure, contributing to variations in performance outcomes. The present work advances prior literature by analyzing efficiency and effectiveness of selected Indian banks from 2005–06 to 2019–20. Design/methodology/approach The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis is applied owing to its methodological simplicity and its ability to handle multiple inputs and outputs simultaneously. Findings Public sector banks outperform their counterparts in-terms of efficiency. Group-wise comparison shows that the State Bank of India and Andhra Bank in the public sector, HDFC Bank in the private sector and BNP Paribas in the foreign banks group are the most efficient banks. While Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank are found to be inefficient banks in their respective groups. The results provide academic insight into how ownership structure and institutional characteristics influence the efficiency of various banks. Panel Tobit regression has found that bank size, branch networks, liquidity risk and interest rate are the key determinants of efficiency. The study contributes to performance management literatures with evidence on the structural and risk-based indicators of efficiency. Originality/value The study provides a 15-year evaluation of efficiency and effectiveness across public, private, and foreign banks in India, extending the contributions of our analysis to a broader global context. By integrating both dimensions, it strengthens comparative performance assessment. The framework we employ is methodologically transferable, enabling cross-country benchmarking and application in diverse banking systems. Our findings offer valuable insights for international policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions in enhancing efficiency, guiding reforms, and supporting strategic decision-making worldwide.