KT Rama Rao woos top bank honchos for Telangana interest

HYDERABAD: Minister K.T. Rama Rao tried to hardsell Telangana state to India Inc. during his whirlwind visit of Mumbai on Monday.

He also met RBI Governor Urjit Patel and sought the help of the central bank to boost the MSME sector in the state.

Mr Rama Rao said TS has 69,000 MSMEs of which 8,618 had beeen declared sick. He said banks were not following RBI guidelines in terms of declaring non-performing assets.

He informed Mr Patel how a bank in Jammi-kunta took to auctioning units within 15 days after they were termed non-performing assets. He presented a memorandum to Mr Patel seeking help for the MSME sector.

Earlier, the minister met ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and discussed digital initiatives, industrial health clinic, T-Fund and Women entrepreneurship. He met IDBI Bank chairman M.K. Jain and his team and discussed about expeditious revival of Sirpur Paper Mill where they are the lead banker.

He held discussions with JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal and invited him to explore investment opportunities in the state.

Mr Rama Rao spoke at the Motilal Oswal Annual Global Investor conference where he presented investment potential and opportunities in the state.

Despite busy with meetings all through the day, Mr Rama Rao instantly posted news and pictures on his Twitter handle. He posted a interesting tweet soon after landing in the financial capital of the country.

“Mumbai, a city that has the most energetic and restless vibe unlike any in India. Disconcerting for a laidback Hyderabadi but nice nonetheless,” he tweeted.