In April 2026 the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) reviewed the disinvestment process for IDBI Bank, stating that the government had excluded the bank’s stock price because of its volatility and that the bidding remained double‑blind. DIPAM said the reserve price had not been raised or lowered during the second round of bidding, and that the first round became functus officio after initial bids were rejected for falling below the reserve price. The government defended the process, asserting that the reserve price was maintained throughout the sale.

The initial bidding round was conducted in 2025‑26 under indicative guidelines that allowed flexibility to ensure the successful completion of strategic disinvestment within a time‑bound manner. DIPAM said the initial bids were not approved because they fell below the reserve price and the bidders declined to match that price. The Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD), empowered by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to address procedural issues and deviations, subsequently determined the process for inviting the best offers.

Questions over the valuation process for the proposed sale to Fairfax Financial surfaced after the government initially set a reserve price of ₹94.42 per share. Bids opened on 12 March 2026 fell below that level, and both bidders refused to match the price. Fairfax submitted a revised offer on 1 June, which was opened on 13 July, after which the CGD ordered fresh valuations. The Businessworld report questioned why officials opened the revised bid before ordering a new valuation, rather than establishing the benchmark independently before seeing the offer.

The Businessworld report also questioned changes to the methods used to value IDBI Bank. One method involved comparing the bank with other listed lenders, with officials directing valuers to use public sector banks as comparators and exclude private sector banks. The report argued that this could lower the valuation because private sector banks generally command higher market valuations. It also noted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has treated IDBI Bank as a private bank for regulatory purposes since 2019. DIPAM said IDBI Bank remained overwhelmingly owned by the government and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), even after the RBI began treating it as a private bank for regulatory purposes.

The revised valuation benchmark was ₹75.99 per share, according to the report. Fairfax's approved offer of ₹81 was therefore about 6.6 % higher. The report questioned whether the new benchmark was influenced by the decision to exclude private sector banks and change other valuation assumptions after the revised bid had been opened. The government said the valuation methodology was reviewed in April 2026, before it invited revised offers. DIPAM asserted that the process remained “double blind” since the bidder did not know the valuation and the valuators did not see the bids.

The department also defended its decision to exclude IDBI Bank's stock price from the valuation, reiterating that the volatility in the shares tended to “misalign valuation with the intrinsic value of the enterprise.” DIPAM said the process remained double‑blind, as the bidder did not know the valuation and the valuators did not see the bids. Only the CGD receives a complete picture and compares the bids with fair valuations to take a final call on the reasonableness of the bids submitted. The government maintains that the reserve price was neither decreased nor increased during the sale process.