Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a new benchmark for Indian banking: at least one Indian lender among the world’s top five. “The banking sector in India is flourishing; one Indian bank should be among the top five globally,” Modi said in his Independence Day speech on Saturday. So where do Indian banks currently stand on the global league tables — and what would it take to close the distance? The numbers tell a story of a sector that has grown rapidly at home but remains, by global standards, a middleweight punching in a heavyweight division. The gap, in short, is formidable.