NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has allowed seven state-run banks to raise capital from market as part of efforts to help them comply with global Basel III banking rules, a finance ministry statement said on Wednesday.
The government in its budget for the next fiscal year that starts from April 1 has allocated 79.4 billion rupees ($1.26 billion) for capital infusion in state-banks, far lower than what the market had expected.
The statement, issued after government officials' meeting with the chiefs of state-run banks, did not name the lenders allowed to sell shares or mention any timeframe for such sales.
Top lender State Bank of India and at least two other state-owned lenders - Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank - have plans to raise funds through share sales.
($1 = 62.7849 rupees)
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon)
