Extend restructuring facility for retail borrowers: CII

Industry body CII President and India's biggest private lending bank ICICI Managing Director K V Kamath today pitched for restructuring of loan facility for retail borrowers to spur demand for consumers durables.

"While the extension of restructuring guidelines to the real estate sector is welcome, there also is an urgent need to enable restructuring of facilities for the retail borrowers, who constitute the consumers of products of various sectors," Kamath said.

This is necessary to restore consumer confidence and encourage household demand and asset creation, he said.

Welcoming the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) move to cut one percentage point in the short-term rates at which it lends (repo) and borrows (reverse repo) from banks, the chamber asked the government for a special refinance window for transportation sector, which is witnessing an unprecedented slump in demand.

"The RBI's policy actions will certainly help in the process of reviving confidence and enabling India to weather the global economic crisis," Kamath said.

We now expect some fiscal stimulus from the government, which would help complete the package, CII said.