Govt mulling to increase insurance limit from current Rs 1 lakh on deposits in banks: Sitharaman

The Finance Ministry is considering proposals to increase the insurance limit from the current Rs 1 lakh on deposits in banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

She said the ministry would move amendments in this regard during the upcoming winter session of Parliament if the Cabinet approves the proposals.

"Finance Ministry is considering proposals to increase the insurance limit from the current Rs 1 lakh on deposits in banks. If cabinet approves, we would like to move amendments in the upcoming winter session," she told reporters here.

An insurance limit is the maximum amount of money an insurer will pay toward a covered claim.

Sitharaman said that she held discussions with RBI and other agencies on if any of the confiscated properties of the promoters of the crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank could be brought under RBI and pay back to the customers of the bank.

In September, the RBI restricted the activities of the PMC Bank for six months and asked it not to grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment or incur any liability, including borrowing of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits after an alleged fraud of Rs 4,355 crore came to light.

The central bank had initially capped the deposit withdrawal at Rs 10,000 but later raised it to Rs 50,000.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized and identified movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 3,830 crore owned by HDIL in connection with the case.

The PMC Bank is a multi-state scheduled urban cooperative bank with operations in Maharashtra, New Delhi, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. With a network of 137 branches, it ranks among the top 10 cooperative banks in the country.