A Sudarshan Chakra for PSU banks

Viral Acharya is asking for more by way of at least creating a timetable for recapitalisation and divestment of govt equity in PSU banks

Last week, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Viral Acharya, borrowed a phrase from the Mahabharata to underline the urgency of tackling the financial crisis that has engulfed India’s public-sector banks (also known as PSU banks). At the end of his RK Talwar Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on September 7, Dr Acharya said: “The Indradhanush was a good plan, but to end the Indian story differently, we need soon a much more powerful plan — ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ — aimed at swiftly, within months, if not weeks, for restoring public-sector bank health, in current ownership structure or