Untenable status quo

A sustainable recovery from the pandemic-induced economic contraction will to a large extent depend on the ability of the banking system, particularly public-sector banks (PSBs), to lend to the productive sectors of the economy. But PSBs in their current form (their gross non-performing assets are set to go above 15 per cent by the end of the current financial year) would not be able to support the economy and need reforms as the government is not in a position to continuously infuse capital. Though the issue of PSB reforms has been under discussion for several years, not much has moved