(FE)
Finance minister Arun Jaitley will review the performance of public sector banks (PSBs) on June 12 here, amid mounting pressure to resolve the vexed issue of massive toxic assets that have eroded the banks’ ability to lend, hurting investments. Major issues to be discussed in the meeting include non-performing assets (NPAs) of PSBs, status of credit to small and medium enterprises, StandUp India (launched to support entrepreneurship among women and Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe communities) and Mudra Yojana (through which the government provides funding to the non-corporate small business sector).
Non-performing assets reached nine per cent of total advances by September 2016, double their level a year earlier. Importantly, more than four-fifths of the bad loans were in the public sector banks, where the NPA ratio had touched almost 12 per cent. A sample of 39 top banks showed NPAs accounted for Rs 6,97,409 crore — or 9.3 per cent of their advances — as of December 2016. The one-day meeting will also focus on financial inclusion and literacy, review of the performance of social security schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
