Will ensure banks pass on rate cuts to consumers: Sitharaman to India Inc

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has assured that she will ensure banks pass on the rate cut benefits to consumers, so the interest burden on them eases, industry body PHDCCI said on Friday.

She was addressing members of the PHD Chamber of Commerce through a video conference here.

"Hon'ble @FinMinIndia @nsitharaman assured that she will personally ensure that #banks transfer benefits of the #ratecuts to end consumers at the earliest," PHDCCI said in a tweet.

Last month, the RBI slashed the benchmark repurchase (repo) rate, the price at which banks borrow from the central bank, by 40 basis points to a historic low of 4 per cent.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said monetary policy transmission to banks' lending rates has continued to improve.

"The 1 year median marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) declined by 90 bps (February 2019-May 15, 2020). The weighted average lending rate (WALR) on fresh rupee loans has cumulatively declined by 114 bps since February 2019, of which 43 bps decline occurred in March 2020 alone," he had said.

The finance minister also assured that the government will continue to respect and facilitate the wealth creators of India to restore job creation and promote economic growth.

"Hon'ble @FinMinIndia @nsitharaman request @phdchamber to continue its good to work in sending continuous representations to improve & restart the industry effectively & continue development & economic growth of #India," it said.

Maximum governance and minimum government intervention is the main objective promoted by the government, she said.

The industry body further said that the Finance Minister accepted "@phdchamber suggestions for creating #technology upgrading fund to promote the use of better technology in #Indianindustry for better #economicgrowth & development".