Industry seeks longer NPA timeline

Hyderabad: Industry body Assocham on Thursday urged the government and RBI to work in a pragmatic manner to help solve the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue to revive the economy.

Assocham president Sandeep Jajodia also urged the Centre that the NPA norms on getting the account classified under non-performing asset category for core sectors should be extended from 90-days to 180-days

Speaking to the media, Assocham president Mr Sandeep Jajodia expressed concern that the RBI, in its credit policy review on Wednesday, missed another opportunity to lower the policy interest rates and help revive the industrial and overall economic growth.

“The national wealth is not segregated into private sector or public sector resources. Whatever the circumstances, most of which beyond the control of the promoters, might have been, all out efforts must be made to resurrect the stressed or non-performing assets. It will be only when a realistic assessment of the state of the stressed or NPAs is done and commercial decisions are taken by the banks or other intermediaries without fear of being haunted that the gigantic problem could be resolved,” said Mr Jajodia.

Summing up, he said, “The terms of different schemes for resolution of the NPAs should be flexible and liberal enough to be accommodative, rather than being rigid.”