Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said that he has asked RBI to finalise guidelines for new bank licences and start accepting applications for the same, pending passage of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill.

He exuded confidence that the amendment bill will be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament and if not,then in the Budget Session. Mr Chidambaram was addressing a press conference after a meeting with heads of public sector banks in New Delhi yesterday. He said that the government proposes to inject 15,000 crore rupees of capital in PSU banks.

He said, the government will work out a strategy to assist industry segments reeling under the impact of the economic slowdown. Mr Chidambaram said, if the economy improves and growth improves, sectors which are not doing well will recover. But in the meanwhile, the government will have to do some handholding and try to help these sectors recover.

The Finance Minister also said that all Kisan Credit Cards will be converted into ATM Cards by March 2014 to provide easy access for farmers to agricultural credit. He said, banks have been asked to strictly adhere to the time frame.

Referring to the filling of vacancies in banks, he said 63,200 people will be recruited by the end of this fiscal providing an opportunity to young men and women.