Business news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (May 20) said that India’s banking sector net profit crossed Rs 3 lakh crore for the first time ever in FY 2024, and termed it a “remarkable turnaround in the last 10 years”. The PM said that the improvement in the health of the banks will improve the availability of credit to the poor. His remarks came on a Times of India report which said that the banking sector’s net profit crossed Rs 3 lakh crore in FY24 for the first time. It also reported that the net profit of listed public and private sector banks rose 39 per cent to Rs 3.1 lakh crore from Rs 2.2 lakh crore in FY23.
What did PM Modi say?
The Prime Minister cited the UPA regime from 2004 to 2014 and said that the banks were reeling under “losses and high NPAs” (non-performing assets) due to the policies of the then Congress-led government.
“In a remarkable turnaround in the last 10 years, India’s banking sector net profit crosses Rs 3 lakh crore for the first time ever. When we came to power, our banks were reeling with losses and high NPAs due to the phone-banking policy of UPA. The doors of the banks were closed for the poor. This improvement in the health of banks will help improve credit availability to our poor, farmers and MSMEs,” PM Modi posted on X.
UN raises India’s growth rate in 2024 to nearly 7 per cent
The United Nations has revised India’s upwards growth projections for 2024 and predicted that the country’s economy will now expand by nearly seven per cent this year, “mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption”. The data was out on May 16 in the World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2024.
“India’s economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly,” it said.
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