Budget 2019: Finance Minister holds key consultations with bankers

The main areas of discussion during the Meeting included issues relating to the Capital Markets, Financial Sector, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) among others.

New Delhi: The Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman held her third Pre- Budget Consultation Meeting with the stakeholders from Financial Sector and Capital Markets here on Thursday.

The main areas of discussion during the Meeting included issues relating to the Capital Markets, Financial Sector, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) among others.

With a view to give boost to Indian markets, the representatives of Financial Sector & Capital Markets submitted several suggestions including:

• Infusion of capital in niche/regional banks
• Enhanced role of Financial Sector Development Council
• On the NBFC Sector, need to distinguish between solvency, governance & liquidity issues was mentioned along with creation of dedicated liquidity window for NBFC sector
• Review of interest rates on Govt.’s Small Savings Schemes
• Review of banking NPAs provisions through setting-up a Committee
• Incentivising agricultural marketing, setting-up of Debt Exchange Traded Fund
• Domestic capability building in Audit & Credit Rating
• Making available trade licence online for MSME sector
• Provision to ease liquidity pressures created due to insolvency
• Rationalisation of various taxes like Security Transaction Tax (STT) in capital market
• Setting-up of a separate bond exchange
• Allowing banks to invest in InvITs to access broader market and make Corporate Tax progressive to incentivise MSME Sector among others
• Enhancing financial literacy programmes and funding

Along with the Finance Minister, the meeting was attended by Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Subhash C. Garg, Finance Secretary, Girish Chandra Murmu, Expenditure Secretary, Ajay Narayan Pandey, Revenue Secretary, Rajeev Kumar, Secretary, DFS, Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, DIPAM, Pramod Chandra Mody, Chairman, CBDT, P.K Das, Chairman, CBIC, Dr K.V. Subramanian, CEA and other senior officials of Ministry of Finance.