Bank recap no different from farm loan waiver

The recapitalisation will help some of the weak banks to come out of the RBI's glare

The CEOs of bad debt-laden state-owned banks should start partying, thanks to the early arrival of Christmas after a stressful year, relentlessly chasing rogue borrowers for recovery of the money lent. Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley played Santa Claus for them by seeking Parliament’s approval for Rs 410 billion capital infusion in these banks.

The government had budgeted for Rs 650 billion fund infusion during the current year, of which Rs 420 billion is still to be allotted. This means, Rs 830 billion will flow into the public sector banks (PSBs), taking the total sum to Rs 1.06 trillion by