Phone banking, again

Bad ideas from India's socialist past should be avoided

Just after coming to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had said that “phone calls from Delhi” would stop as far as public sector banks (PSB) were concerned. The NDA-II government seems to have forgotten that promise, as is evident from its announcement last week that PSBs would hold “Shamiana meetings” in 400 districts of the country so that smaller businesses and retail borrowers can access loans from banks and partner non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Easy availability of credit during the festive season, the government believes, would have a multiplier effect and push up demand throughout the