Minister allays concerns on NPAs, says solution soon

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SME Times News Bureau | 28 Apr, 2017
The massive accumulated non-performing assets, or bad loans, of state-run banks are not too much of a worry for the government and a solution is on the anvil for unveiling soon, the government said on Thursday.

"Non-performing assets (NPAs) are not a subject to worry about too much. I think we will find a solution to the problem soon," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said on the sidelines of a conference here on the National Pension System.

Questioned about a timeframe to resolve the NPAs issue, Gangwar said the government will announce the plan soon.

The NPAs of state-run banks at the end of last September rose to Rs 6.3 lakh crore (almost $100 billion), as compared to Rs 5.5 lakh crore at the end of June 2016.

The Minister also dismissed the suggestion voiced by NITI Aayog Member Bibek Debroy on taxing agricultural income above a certain threshold, saying no such taxes will be levied.

"Like it was stated by the Finance Minister, we had no talks on imposing any form of taxes on agricultural income," he said.

At the conference, Gangwar released a report titled "Financial Security for India's Elderly" prepared by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in association with CRISIL.