Government Assessing Feasibility of Relief to Bank Borrowers

Various concerns have been raised during the proceedings of the ongoing hearing in Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in the matter of Gajendra Sharma Vs. UoI and Others, of the matter regarding the relief sought in terms of waiver of interest and waiver of interest on interest and other related issues.

Government has accordingly constituted an Expert Committee for making an overall assessment so that its decisions in this regard are better informed.

The Expert Committee shall be as under:

(i)  Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, former CAG of India - Chairperson

(ii)  Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, former Professor, IIM Ahmedabad & ex- Member, Monetary Policy Committee of Reserve Bank of India

(iii)  Shri B. Sriram, Former Managing Director, State Bank of India & IDBI Bank

The terms of reference of the committee shall be as under:

(i)  Measuring the impact on the national economy and financial stability   of waiving of interest and waiving of interest on interest on the COVID-19 related moratorium

(ii) Suggestions to mitigate financial constraints of various sections of society in this respect and measures to be adopted in this regard

(iii) Any other suggestions/observations that may be necessary given the current situation.

The committee will submit its report within one week. State Bank of India will provide secretarial support to the committee. The Committee may consult banks or other stakeholders, as deemed necessary, for the purpose.