India's resilience stands out amid global uncertainties: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said India's resilience stands out due to its strong macroeconomic fundamentals amid increasing global uncertainties.

Speaking at the 91st Foundation Day function of the Bank of Maharashtra, the Union Finance Minister said the uncertainty in the global environment has increased over the past year, and its impact is being felt across countries.

"But amidst all these uncertain global situations, India's resilience stands out and several favourable factors, such as strong macroeconomic fundamentals, a young demography, and greater reliance on domestic demand, provide the core strength to the Indian economy," she noted.

Sitharaman said the economic resilience has continued, particularly in the April-June quarter this year, as well, where India's GDP has grown by 7.8 per cent.

"This...is not accidental at all," she said, adding that it reflects proactive fiscal and monetary policies, bold structural reforms, massive infrastructure creation (both physical and digital), and improved governance and enhanced competitiveness over the last decade.

Speaking on the occasion, Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said public sector banks should increase their focus on MSMEs.

They should provide more loans to MSMEs, he said, adding that education loans should also be given priority.

He urged banks to see that no education loan application should be rejected.

Nagaraju also said that banks should enhance their lending towards agriculture and allied activities.

In the same breadth, he asked banks to be vigilant about the quality of loans.