TIA NEWS /
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that government was working on a slew of sectoral reforms, including a new law on fast track arbitration, in a bid to address the stressed areas of the banking sector.
Speaking at the 68th Annual General meeting of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) held in Mumbai today, Mr. Jaitley said that public sector banks (PSUs) need to be given independence from political decision-making. He also said that the government is aware of the challenges faced by the PSU banks and measures are being taken to address each one of them.
The Finance Minister said sectors such as steel, power, highways and discoms were responsible for the stress in PSU banks. The Finance Minister said the government may consider reducing its stake in PSU banks to 52 per cent, giving additional financial strength to banks themselves.
The Finance Minister also informed that a high level committee headed by Justice A P Shah, former Chairperson, Law Commission was looking into the options available for PSU banks to recruit the best talent from the market.
The FM said direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme is going to result in huge revenue saving for the government. He also said the ongoing Pradhan Mantri MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Yojana will play a vital role for people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Jaitley said the IBA took the important initiative of ‘Gyan Sangam- the Bankers’ Retreat’ this year. He said that important ideas emerged out of the program which was held in Pune in January this year.
Finance Minister also said that the government has made considerable progress in addressing the issue of ease of doing business. He said an Exit Policy is in final stages of preparation and the draft will be put out for deliberations early next month. Mr. Jaitley also said the Dispute Resolution Tribunal (DRT)’s working is being speeded up by moving most of the transactions online.