The finance ministry on Monday held a meeting with heads of public sector banks (PSBs) to review their annual performance and progress made by them on various government schemes. The meeting was scheduled to be chaired by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, but she could not attend it.

However, the annual performance review of PSBs was chaired by minister of state for finance Bhagwat K Karad. Besides the minister, financial services secretary Sanjay Malhotra and other senior officials of the department of financial services (DFS) were present at the meeting. According to sources, banks were asked to sanction loans for productive sectors to accelerate the revival of the economy facing headwinds, including from the Russia-Ukraine war.

During the Iconic Week celebration of the finance ministry earlier this month, banks conducted outreach programmes across the country where eligible borrowers have sanctioned loans on the spot. Banks have been asked to expedite non-performing assets (NPAs) resolution and focus on the recovery of bad loans, the sources said.