New Delhi: As part of pre-Budget consultations, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet bankers, including officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other financial institutions, on Thursday.
The agenda of the meeting is expected to be on the need to tell the lenders to ease credit flow to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small borrowers and with a revised RBI circular in place to make cases for loan recoveries.
The meeting between bankers and financial services institutions is expected to be more of a stock-taking exercise following the RBI circular on controlling non-performing assets (NPAs) through insolvency.
Sitharaman is expected to discuss ways to improve the financial health of state-owned banks, their non-performing assets position and improving lending to priority sectors such as MSMEs and agriculture, sources said.
Sources said the FM may remind the PSU lenders of ensuring transmission of RBI rate cuts to the benefit of common borrowers.
Insurance companies are also part of the pre-Budget meeting where they are likely to seek fund infusion.
The Department of Financial Services may propose fund infusion in three insurance companies, namely National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company.
Banks and insurance companies are likely to seek tax benefit for their products in the Budget.
In a bid to up lending to the infrastructure sector, bankers are likely to pitch for the need to support infrastructure funding and demand tax-free bonds for this sector.
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