Nirmala Sitharaman asks banks to keep pursuing people who have turned loan accounts into NPAs

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.

“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, who earlier inaugurated a number of government schemes and distributed letters regarding sanction of loans to various entrepreneurs, said 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.

She also referred to Modi’s statement that India’s growth story and planning for a better global economy will not be as good as expected unless every state progresses.

“I can see the importance of this statement and J&K should not be left in a slow pace of growth. I will ensure that working together with the administration here, budgetary, banking and any other support you need will be extended so that you can catch up with the rest of us, with all Indians so that we move forward and the benefits of such a development is for every citizen.”

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.