Kolkata, July 26 - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday ruled out privatisation of state-run banks and said market economy was not the solution to the nation's economic problems.

Recalling that the late prime minister Indira Gandhi had nationalised banks 40 years ago in 1969, Mukherjee said, 'We survived the economic meltdown because of this step. In the world's leading countries, the finance sectors have crashed but we are still surviving because we nationalised our banking sector.'

Rather than privatising banks, he said, the government policy was to strengthen the state-run banks.

'The government will always have at least 51 percent stake in them,' Mukherjee said while inaugurating the 28th conference of the West Bengal unit of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).

He said economic reforms were needed, but the stress would be on fulfilling the needs of the 'aam admi' (common man).