Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be meeting the heads of PSU banks to review their performance and bad loans situation as also to persuade them to pass on Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI's) rate cut benefit to borrowers for propping growth. FM is expected to push state-run banks to boost their housing loan portfolio and consider further rate cuts at the meeting, as the Reserve Bank of India has reduced the key rates by 75 basis points in the last six months.
Jaitley is likely to deliberate on the issue of non-performing assets (NPAs) and discuss ways to contain them. As per RBI’s data, gross NPAs of PSU banks have gone up to Rs 2,60,531 crore as on December 2014.
A finance ministry statement said that FM will also review the progress of three social security schemes namely Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY). He will also review the progress made with regard to Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA), expeditious disposal of public grievances and Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes among others.
Meanwhile, a day before the meeting, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan called on the Finance Minister here and reviewed the state of economy in particular reference of the inflationary expectations measured by the central bank on fears of weak monsoon and the interest rate regime.