Gross NPAs Of Banks Fall To 6-Year Low Of 5.9 Per Cent In March 2022: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister said that the government is keeping a good eye on inflation that is purely extraneous nowadays because of fuel and fertiliser prices

Sitharaman also said that the corporate sector has been deleveraging its balance sheet as evident in the decline of core debt of the private non-financial sector which has decreased to 87.8 per cent of GDP in June 2022 from 97.4 per cent in March 2016.  ( Image Source :Twitter/ Sansad Tv )

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that gross non-performing assets (NPA) have come down to a six-year low of 5.9 per cent in March 2022. Finance Minister was replying to the Discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants (2022-2023) & Demands for Excess Grants (2019-2020) in Rajya Sabha. 

Sitharaman also said that the corporate sector has been deleveraging its balance sheet as evident in the decline of core debt of the private non-financial sector which has decreased to 87.8 per cent of GDP in June 2022 from 97.4 per cent in March 2016. 

Nirmala Sitharamanin said, “Private investment capex is happening in India because of favorable policies like PLI.” She added that when CapEx is undertaken by the government, PLI is being offered, and when start-ups are created and given funds through fund of funds (FOF)... jobs are being created. 

“Many large developed economies are facing recession because I think the way in which they handled Covid as different from the way in which we handled it in India...Targeted approach has kept us on the safe course of helping revival but not getting into recession,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the upper house. 

Finance Minister also said that the government is keeping a good eye on inflation that is purely extraneous nowadays because of fuel and fertiliser prices. 

The Lok Sabha has already passed Supplementary Demands for Grants, authorising the government to spend additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in FY23. The Finance Minister while replying to Supplementary Demands for Grants 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha had said, “the government will further bring down inflation and is constantly watching price situation of essential commodities. We will bring down further for the sake of common people.”

Retail inflation was down to an 11-month low of 5.8 per cent in November from 6.77 per cent in the previous month. It dipped below the RBI's upper tolerance level of 6 per cent.