New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will address the boards of RBI and SEBI on Sunday and is likely to impress upon them the need to be proactive to promote financial inclusion and boost growth.
The customary post-Budget meeting of the Finance Minister with the boards of the two regulators on August 10 is taking place against the backdrop of pick up in economic indicators after India posted sub-five per cent growth for two fiscals in a row. The Reserve Bank will announce its third bi-monthly monetary policy on August 5 amid expectations that it may cut rates and take other steps to promote industrial activities. Jaitley was earlier scheduled to address the RBI board on Saturday. As regards market regulator SEBI, the government is pushing in Parliament the SEBI Amendment bill which seeks to empower the regulator in cracking down on ponzi schemes. Jaitley is expected to brief the boards of the two financial sector regulators on his Budget announcements which include setting up on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS), common KYC, easier funding for start ups and boost to infrastructure funding.
Also, the Finance Minister is likely to apprise the RBI board about the steps being taken by the government to control fiscal deficit and rein in inflation, particularly in the food segment. Last week after meeting PSU banks, Jaitley had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a government campaign for financial inclusion to ensure that 7.5 crore households that do not have access to banking, have at least two accounts. The efforts will also be made to introduce mobile banking on all kinds of phones, he said. As per the latest government's Economic Survey, country's economic growth to improve to 5.4-5.9 per cent during the current fiscal as per the latest Economic Survey.
