Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the public sector banks (PSBs) yearly performance on Wednesday and announced the EASE 4.0, or Enhanced Access and Service Excellence, a shared reform agenda for PSBs to institutionalise clean, intelligent banking. Sitharaman, who is in Mumbai for a two-day visit and is meeting with PSB CEOs and conducting an annual performance assessment of public sector lenders, said she had asked PSU banks to address the requirements of exporters. The finance minister’s visit was his first since the outbreak of the epidemic.
She urged banks to work with export promotion councils, noting that the nature of banking is evolving, and the sector is recognising new ways to raise capital. She stated that banks had been ordered to regularly communicate with the Federation of Indian Exporters Organization so that exporters do not have to switch bankers. “Banks are generating cash through a variety of methods. These new factors must be investigated to focus credit where it is most needed”, according to Sitharaman.
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The finance minister stated that banks must help emerging industries like fintech and that she has ordered PSBs to boost loan flow to eastern states. She also stated that she had asked banks to collaborate with state governments to promote the “one district, one export” strategy. Sitharaman praised the PSBs’ performance, saying that they had performed admirably and had avoided Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) despite prolonged service during the epidemic.
According to Finance Secretary Debashish Panda, the finance minister has accepted the plan to increase the family pension and the employer’s contribution under the NPS. Family pensioners would now be eligible for the benefits. He stated that the salary ceiling has been eliminated and that a uniform slab of 30% would be implemented. The pension may be worth up to Rs 35,000. In addition, he stated that the employer (Banks) contribution to the NPS would be increased by 40%. It will rise from ten per cent to fourteen per cent.
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