India has proven its resilience in the face of global uncertainties and trade tensions, said Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on Thursday, adding that the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals were to be credited for the feat.
Sitharaman spoke at the Bank of Maharashtra's 91st Foundation Day event in Pune, where she was the chief guest.
During the event, she emphasised the critical role of banks in supporting India’s mission of being a developed nation by 2047, and urged them to boost the infrastructure sector, support MSMEs, expand formal banking, and increase insurance penetration.
"But amidst all these uncertain global situations, India's resilience stands out and several favourable factors, such as strong macroeconomic fundamentals, a young demography, and greater reliance on domestic demand, provide the core strength to the Indian economy," she noted.
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The economic resilience, said the minister, has been continuous, as seen in India’s GDP growth during the April-June quarter this year when it grew by 7.8 per cent.
"This...is not accidental at all," she said, adding that “it reflects proactive fiscal and monetary policies, bold structural reforms, massive infrastructure creation (both physical and digital), and improved governance and enhanced competitiveness over the last decade”.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary at the Department of Financial Services, M Nagaraju, also stressed on the need for public sector banks to increase their focus on MSMEs.
“They should provide more loans to MSMEs”, he said, adding that “education loans should also be given priority” and that “no education loan application should be rejected”.
Nagaraju also said that banks should enhance their lending towards agriculture and allied activities.
“But, be vigilant about the quality of loans,” he warned.
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