The Cabinet has given the go-ahead to the merger plan of SBI and its five associates, a step aimed at strengthening the banking sector through consolidation of public banks. The associate banks which will be merged with SBI are State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH).