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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday held a meeting with Chairmen and Managing Directors of public sector banks to review their performance.
During the review meeting, Sitharaman assessed various steps taken by PSBs in implementing pandemic-related measures initiated by Government of India and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and readiness to tackle possible future disruptions that may occur due to the ongoing variant of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finance Ministry said in a statement after the meeting. The meeting was held through virtual mode. While appreciating the success of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), the Finance Minister said "it is not time yet to rest on our achievements and that our collective efforts must strive towards supporting sectors that face interruption due to the continued onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic." Sitharaman also conveyed to the bankers to continue supporting the agriculture sector, farmers, retail sector and MSMEs. The Finance Minister noted that that business outlook is progressively improving in spite of the headwinds from global development and Omicron spread. She underlined that contact intensive sectors may require more support to help them fight against the pandemic. On the credit demand front, the Finance Minister said that credit demand is expected to pick up on account of growth in retail segments, improvement in overall macroeconomic prospects and improving the financial health of borrowers. During the review meeting, bankers pointed out that PSBs have observed an improvement in the repayment culture in the country. Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad and Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Debasish Panda, along with other senior officials of the Finance Ministry also attended the review meeting. In their assessment of the overall situation, bankers were confident that PSBs are adequately capitalised and banks are prepared for any stress scenarios in future. (ANI)
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