Days after launching the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday afternoon slammed the Opposition, urging them to do their homework first. Her remarks came even as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of "putting India on sale".
The government has planned a Rs 6 lakh crore pipeline of assets that can be monetised which includes a range of assets put on the block for private sector participation, over a four-year period, from Financial Year 2022 to Financial Year 2025.
Sitharaman was quick to counter the criticism, wondering whether Gandhi understood the concept of monetisation. Reiterating that the government was not selling off public assets, the Finance Minister questioned the contributions of the Opposition party over the last 70 years. The Congress, she added, was very good at selling and had made kickbacks.
On Wednesday, Sitharaman unveiled the fourth edition of the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda 'EASE 4.0' for 2021-22-tech-enabled, simplified, and collaborative banking' in Mumbai. The Finance Minister also participated in an awards ceremony to felicitate best performing banks on EASE 3.0 Banking Reforms Index.
The Union Finance Ministry on Wednesday informed that public sector banks have reported healthy profits and have accelerated on technology-driven reforms. "PSBs have reported a profit of Rs 31,817 crore in financial year of 2020-21 as compared to a loss of Rs 26,016 crore in financial year of 2019-2020. This is the first year when PSBs have reported a profit after five years of losses. Total gross non-performing assets stood at Rs 6.16 lakh crore as of March 2021, reduction of Rs 62,000 crore from March 2020 levels. Number frauds at PSBs have substantially come down to 2,903 in financial year 2020-21 compared to 3,704 in financial year 2018-19," read an official release by the ministry.
(With inputs from agencies)
