Finance Minister in Mumbai: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a two-day visit to Mumbai. Yesterday he met Income Tax officials, GST officials and industry people. Today the Finance Minister is going to hold a meeting with the MD and CEO of Public Sector Banks (PSB) banks.
Finance Minister to launch EASE 4.0 today
Along with the officials of the banks, the Finance Minister will review the annual performance review of the banks. This will be the first such review meeting after the Corona epidemic. This meeting is being held at a time when the government’s focus is on growth recovery and high inflation is creating difficulties in the way. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will also launch EASE 4.0 (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) today. EASE is a general reform agenda for public sector banks that aims to institutionalize clean and smart banking.
What is EASE 4.0?
What is EASE 4.0 and how will it work and what will be its benefits, let us understand
1. This year public sector banks will provide new analytics for existing retail customers like pre-approved car loans, EMI offers on e-commerce purchases and new analytics for existing MSME customers Will focus on introducing and promoting
2.EASE-based offers focused on the subjects.
3. This is part of the reforms agenda prepared on the recommendations made in the PSB Manthan held in November, 2017 involving the senior management of PSBs and representatives of the government.
4. Its first edition EASE 1.0 was launched in January 2018, while EASE 3.0 was launched in February 2020. It aims to enhance the banking experience for customers using technology, alternative data and analytics.
Finance minister to review the performance of banks
Today, a meeting with the heads of public sector banks (PSBs) will be done to review the steps taken to speed up the slowing economy due to the Corona epidemic, as well as the performance review of the banks. Sources said that meeting with the managing directors and CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) is necessary in view of the importance of the banking sector to drive demand and consumption.
A few days ago, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also said that the government is fully prepared to take all necessary steps to give impetus to the economy affected by the Kovid-19 epidemic. The Finance Minister had said that economic growth will be given importance and for this both the Reserve Bank and we will give our support.
These issues will be discussed.
Many issues can be discussed in this meeting with the Finance Minister. According to sources, the current condition of the bank, the progress of the restructuring-two plan announced by the Reserve Bank are expected to be reviewed in the meeting. In the meeting, emphasis can be given to banks to increase credit to productive sectors. Along with this, the Emergency Credit Loan Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) will also be reviewed.
According to sources, the Finance Minister can also take stock of the situation of bad loans or NPA (Non Performing Assets). Apart from this, the reform measures taken by the banks can also be discussed. Let us tell you that the NPA of banks came down to Rs 6,16,616 crore as on March 31, 2021 from Rs 6,78,317 crore as on March 31, 2020, as on March 31, 2019, this figure was Rs 7,39,541 crore.
Let us tell you that earlier this month, a committee of Parliament had expressed concern about the delay in resolving the long-standing problem of NPAs in public sector banks. This committee had asked the Finance Ministry to prepare a clear policy to get the banks out of this difficulty.
