P Satish C K Gopalakrishna In the last two-and-a-half decades the rural banking structure has expanded spatially throughout the country. However, it has not been characterised by robust financial health and over the years the structure of rural banking itself has been viewed as an unviable one. This article reviews the framework regarding viability of banking and examines the macro-level components of the financial structure of rural banking institutions, to see whether non- viability is structurally in-built.
