Arvind Subramanian to brief par panel on mounting NPAs today

New Delhi: Outgoing Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian will brief a parliamentary panel on the issue of mounting non-performing assets today. While the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have also been summoned by the panel to discuss the matter, a date for the same is yet to be decided, sources said.

The parliament's committee on estimates, headed by veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, was yesterday briefed by senior finance ministry officials, including Hasmukh Adhia and deputy governors of the RBI.

Members of the panel posed a number of questions over the rising non-performing assets (NPAs) and crisis in the banking sector, sources said.

During the meeting, which lasted for more than four hours, the members demanded various documents including minutes of the board meetings of the public sector banks, in which high-ticket value loans were approved.

Sources said ED Director Karnal Singh and CBI Director Alok Verma will also brief the panel on the issue. The investigating agencies have been called as they are probing various cases of NPAs and complaints against senior bank officials related to sanctioning of loans.

The banking sector is grappling with rising non-performing assets, which touched Rs 8.99 lakh crore or 10.11 per cent of total advances at December-end 2017.

Of the gross NPAs, the public sector banks accounted for Rs 7.77 lakh crore. The rising number of frauds has become a serious cause of concern.