India working on a package for state-run banks - minister

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The finance ministry is working on a comprehensive package to help state-run banks, which are saddled with huge bad loans, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday.

Rising bad loans at Indian banks over the past three years amid an economic slowdown has prevented banks from lending more, despite three interest rate cuts by the central bank this year totalling three-quarters of a percentage point.

This has affected the government's plan to spur a revival in credit to key sectors such as infrastructure.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Malini Menon)