Nirmala Sitharaman Says Banks Have Sufficient Liquidity

14 Oct 2019, 04:11 PM IST

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the bank merger process was "going smoothly"

All efforts would be made to ensure that the MSME sector gets its dues ahead of Diwali, the Finance Minister said.
According to the returns filed by large corporates to the Corporate Affairs Ministry, there are dues worth Rs 40,000 crore to the MSME sector, she said.
Talks between the Finance Ministry and the state-run lenders come at a time the government has announced a slew of measures to revive economic growth.
The finance minister said on Monday that the the bank merger process was "going smoothly".
In August, the government announced a mega consolidation plan in a bid to strengthen the financial system and push economic growth.
The four mergers proposed to combine Punjab National Bank with Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank; Canara Bank with Syndicate Bank; Union Bank of India with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank, and Indian Bank with Allahabad Bank.
The consolidation plan would lead to 12 public sector banks in the system instead of 27, the government said.
India's GDP or gross domestic product expanded 5 per cent in the quarter ended June, marking the lowest pace of growth in more than six years.
The Finance Minister has earlier said that GDP growth is likely to pick up in the October-March period as consumer demand is expected to improve in the festival season.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry said that loans worth Rs 81,781 crore were disbursed during the nine-day outreach programme organised by banks.