In what appears to be a loud and clear message for those defaulting in repayment of bank loans, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked the banks to continue actively pursuing people who have turned their loan accounts into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).
Sitharaman was speaking at a function at Jammu University’s General Zorawar Singh Stadium
Assuring all budgetary support needed for the development in Jammu and Kashmir, she said, “We will have to put in our resources to make the state work well in a transparent manner. If there is any wrongdoing that has happened in the bank, any loans that have been taken and not repaid till now, I am sure our system will work in such a way that the wrongdoers and the money which has been taken away will be brought back.”
She added, “You might have seen NPAs had been a cause of worry for the government. As soon as Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, in order to bring the NPAs down, there was a specific formulation — recognise the NPA, address them, resolve them, recapitalise the bank and make sure that there is a response in the banking sector. As a result, NPAs have come down today,” she added.
She further said that the fall in the number of NPAs also saved the banks from keeping provisions for bad accounts. “Meanwhile, the government pursued all those whose accounts had turned into NPAs within the country and abroad. We ensured their properties are attached and through a legal process are sold and auctioned out and the money came back to the banks,” she said.
“This shall continue to happen,” she said, asking the banks to “actively pursue” every NPA so that the tax payers’ money which has been taken away from the bank is brought back to it. “That shall apply to J&K as well,” Sitharaman said, adding, “We should take back every money which has been taken from the bank and is not serviced. It should come back to the bank.”
Sitharaman also said that she will ensure more banking activities take place in Jammu and Kashmir and the banks which have more equity come to the Union Territory and extend credit to the people so as to help them in setting up their businesses.
When asked about Congress leader Manish Tiwari’s statement about the UPA government not taking action against Pakistan following the 26/11, Sitharaman said, “Decisions of this nature were taken with clear headed leadership during PM Modi’s time and after taking forces into confidence, be it Pulwama or Sunjwan. The decision-making process was missing during the UPA regime,” she said
