Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 25 said that financial institutions must maintain strong balance sheet to fund significant investment in infrastructure.
"Financial institutions like Bank of Maharashtra therefore must maintain strong balance sheets to fund significant investments in infrastructure, industry and also in innovation," Sitharaman said while addressing at 91 Foundation Day of Bank of Maharashtra in Pune.
She added that with the uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global landscape the role of banks becomes even more critical. Not just as custodians of savings but also engines of growth providing the finance and support that businesses and entrepreneurs need to navigate for volatility, seize the opportunity and also drive innovation.
Further, she said that state-owned banks need to engage proactively with NBFCs on co-lending for priority sector lending to enhance credit flow to the underserved sectors ensuring that funds reach the ultimate beneficiaries at an affordable cost.
Bank of Maharashtra's business through co-lending has grown more than 15 times reaching 3,175 growths in the year 2024-25, Sitharaman said.
On the macro economic front, Sitharaman said that amidst all these uncertain global situations, India's resilience stands out and several favourable factors such as a strong macroeconomic fundamentals, a young demography and greater reliance on domestic demand provide the core strength to the Indian economy and therefore to withstand global spillovers and grow at a higher aspirational trajectory.
India's economy grew 7.8 percent in the June quarter, its fastest pace in five quarters, beating economists estimates and dimming hopes of a policy rate cut in October by the Reserve Bank of India.
Sitharaman said the resilience in economy is not accidental at all and it reflect proactive fiscal and monetary policies, bold structural reforms, massive infrastructure creation, both physical and digital, an improved governance and an enhance of competitiveness over the last decade.
On the GST reforms, Sitharaman said traders have passed on the benefit and there is not at all any concern whether they would or not. "Every item where the benefit has been passed on, people are able to see it for themselves."
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