Finance Minister explains govt priorities to the RBI board

The Board in its meeting reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges, and various areas of operations of the Reserve Bank including ways for the strengthening of Grievance Redress Mechanism in Banks.

Finance Minister explains govt priorities to the RBI board

New Delhi: Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman holds customary meeting with the board members of the RBI and Sebi after the Budget presentation every year. FM Sitharaman on Tuesday explained the government's priorities to the Reserve Bank of India's central board during their first meeting after the presentation of the Union Budget 2021-22 in the 587th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India was held under the Chairmanship of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, through video conferencing.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the Directors of the Central Board. The Hon’ble Finance Minister in her address outlined the thinking behind the Union Budget 2021-22 and the priorities of the Government. Complimenting the Finance Minister on the Budget, the Board members made various suggestions for consideration of the Government.

The Union Finance Minister was accompanied by Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur; Finance Secretary & Secretary, Department of Revenue, Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey and Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

The Board in its meeting reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges, and various areas of operations of the Reserve Bank including ways for the strengthening of Grievance Redress Mechanism in Banks.

Deputy Governors Shri B.P. Kanungo, Shri Mahesh Kumar Jain, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, and Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao and other Directors of the Central Board – Shri N. Chandrasekaran, Shri Dilip S. Shanghvi, Shri Satish K. Marathe, Shri S Gurumurthy, Ms. Revathy Iyer and Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi attended the meeting. Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Shri Debasish Panda, and Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Shri Tarun Bajaj also attended the meeting.

Earlier this month, the finance minister presented a Rs 34.5 lakh crore-budget for 2021-22 in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. The budget has laid emphasis on increasing capital expenditure, raising allocation for healthcare capacity building, and the development of agriculture infrastructure, among others, which are expected to have a multiplier effect on the economy.

Hit hard by the pandemic, the fiscal deficit — the excess of government expenditure over its revenues — is estimated to hit a record high of 9.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal ending March 31. For the next 2021-22 fiscal, the deficit has been pegged at 6.8% of GDP, which will be further lowered to 4.5% by the fiscal ending March 31, 2026.

Earlier this month, Mr. Das said the central bank will able to manage the high quantum of government borrowings at Rs 12 lakh crore for the next fiscal in a "non-disruptive" manner.

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