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Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan expressed concern about the growing non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks, especially the public-sector ones. "There is a problem of NPAs... I hope these will stablise," he said at a panel discussion here on Friday.
The overall gross NPAs in the banking sector stood at 4.1 per cent at the end of December 2013, according to Icra. Gross NPAs of public-sector lenders stood at 5.17 per cent, up from 4.82 per cent as of end-September.
ICICI Bank's managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar said NPAs have risen owing to factors outside the control of banks. According to her, it is time to hand-hold intrinsically viable projects.
Rajan said India is going through a period of turmoil, but now growth seems to be stabilising.
India's economic growth is officially projected to be below five per cent for the second year in a row in 2013-14.
Kochhar said the economy has bottomed out and that there is a need to bring back investment.
