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India is planning to set up “digital only” banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to ensure that business continuity in the lending system is not affected even in exceptional times.
In her first public appearance before the Atlantic Council think tank, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a select Washington audience that the government had made efforts to achieve macroeconomic stability by recapitalising banks and increasing foreign exchange reserves.
“Bad loans and provisioning were taxing. We have to keep infusing money into banks … We have amalgamated several of them. The Reserve Bank of India has also been very nimble about setting up ‘digital only’ NBFCs. Now we are in the process of setting up digital banks as well, not one but 75 of them this year,” she said.
Sitharaman is in Washington DC to attend the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Exuding confidence about India posting robust economic growth this decade, she said recovery from the pandemic was distinct. At the same time, she said the task ahead was challenging in view of rising commodity prices, especially those of crude oil and natural gas, geopolitical uncertainties, and the global growth slowdown.
On inflation she said India had breached the upper threshold of 6 per cent but “not so badly”.
Friday, April 22, 2022 – 01:00
