Finance minister says sees merit in state banks' demand for more capital

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Reuters NEW DELHI
Last Updated : Jun 12 2015 | 3:22 PM IST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's state-owned banks have made a "strong case" for higher capital infusion by the government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday, adding he saw a merit in the demand.

"This is a strong case that the banks have made and therefore, I do believe that it's a case which merits the government seriously looking into it," Jaitley told a news conference after a meeting with bankers.

He, however, didn't specify how much more the government was ready to inject.

Jaitley has budgeted to infuse 79.4 billion rupees ($1.24 billion) in the fiscal year 2015/16 to shore up the capital of the state-run banks. But a central bank deputy governor said on Thursday the budgeted amount was not adequate.

($1 = 64.0600 rupees)

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee)

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First Published: Jun 12 2015 | 3:02 PM IST

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