New Delhi : Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the government is open to giving more powers to RBI to deal more effectively with frauds like the ones allegedly committed by diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in PNB.
Goyal’s comment comes within days of RBI Governor Urjit Patel reportedly telling a parliamentary standing committee that the central bank lacked enough powers to effectively regulate public sector banks (PSBs).
On RBI’s stand, Goyal said however that those were the views of the governor about powers of regulation and supervision of the central bank.
“We believe that powers are available with the RBI and that is the conversation that the government and the central bank will have amongst themselves,” Goyal told the media after meeting heads of 13 public sector banks (PSBs) here.
“If there are any more additional powers required, government is open to that,” he said.
The minister added however that he personally does not “believe there is any shortage of powers but we will have discussion with RBI and sort them out”.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on June 12 here, Patel had made a strong case for more powers to effectively regulate PSBs, as several of them have been hit by frauds.
Deposits secure
Goyal also said public money in state-owned banks is 100 per cent safe and secure.
“Let me reassure everybody that public money is extremely safe in the public sector banks. Government stands behind public sector banks… Government owned banks’ deposits are 100 per cent safe and secure,” he said.
Goyal added however that he does not know “how safe it is in private sector and some of the companies which have income tax dues, which they don’t pay”.
