RBI governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan has said that despite immense efforts by the government and the apex bank; the stability of Indian economy is still a "work in progress". In an overview to the RBI's Annual Report 2014-15 that was released on Thursday, Dr. Rajan said that economic growth is still below levels that India is capable of. He said that inflation is still on the higher side and the willingness of banks to cut base rates is muted.The report says that uncertainty in the progress and distribution of monsoon continues to be a risk for both growth as well as the inflation outlook. RBI has said that it is closely monitoring the overall disinflation strategy that requires inflation to be brought down to 5 per cent by January 2017. Meanwhile, RBI has also expresses the need for a comprehensive and pre-emptive food management strategies to contain the spill overs of a feeble monsoon.Dr. Rajan said RBI will continue to remain focussed on bringing down inflation and work with the government and banks to resolve the issue of distressed projects and clean up bank balance sheets so as to support new lending. RBI Governor has said that the focus is on getting the underlying real projects back on track; while also keeping in check the progress of current projects. He said the RBI has created a database of loans over 50 million and advised banks and NBFCs to report regularly on the status of the loans. In case a loan is identified as more than 60 days overdue, RBI has asked all lenders to that borrower to come together in a Joint Lending Forum (JLF) and see how the problem can be fixed. By bringing the creditors into one forum, RBI has made it easier for the promoter and the creditors to reach a consensus on actions, even while making it harder for the promoter to play one creditor off against another. Further, RBI has instructed banks to classify all restructured loans as non-performing loans. RBI has also welcomed the Government's decision to add to the recapitalisation fund for banks as it will help in cleaning up balance sheets and generating healthy growth. The RBI report has said that business confidence remains robust, and as the initiatives to boost infra investments get rolled out, they should crowd in private investment and revive consumer sentiment. RBI has also asked government to frontload disinvestment plans to take advantage of supportive market conditions.The RBI report has further cited gaps in distribution networks and deteriorating financials of power discoms which need to be addressed expeditiously for demand to keep pace with the ongoing easing of supply constraints. RBI has said that the government's resolve on fiscal consolidation should propel efforts to reach the target for the gross fiscal deficit for 2015-16 at 3.9 per cent. RBI has said that with a surplus expected on trade in services from software exports and travel earnings, the current account deficit for the year as a whole should be contained below 1.5 per cent of GDP. On the revenue side, the report noted a massive uptick of 38 percent till July in indirect tax collections. The report informs that remittances have weathered the slowdown in global growth and should continue to lend support to the balance of payments. RBI said the outlook for capital flows is highly uncertain, with the widely anticipated normalisation in the US monetary policy later this year expected to lead to capital outflows from emerging markets. RBI has said that the proposal to introduce a comprehensive bankruptcy code of global standards by FY16 and replacement of the exiting multiple prior permission procedure for investments by a pre-existing regulatory mechanism is expected to improve the business environment in the country.
News On AIR | August 27, 2015 9:47 PM
Stability of Indian economy, still a "work in progress": RBI Governor