&w=3840&q=100)
Finance Ministry calls for joint effort to cut backlog at debt tribunals
The Finance Ministry on Saturday urged all stakeholders to collaborate in reducing pendency of cases at debt recovery tribunals (DRTs) by establishing an effective recovery ecosystem.
This would facilitate the redeployment of capital locked in cases pending before DRTs for productive use in the economy, the finance ministry said in a statement.
During a colloquium of Chairpersons of Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) and Presiding Officers of Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) organised by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Ministry of Finance also discussed effective implementation of DRT Regulations, 2024 and prioritisation of high value cases in DRTs for optimal recovery.
Justice S V N Bhatti, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, graced the meeting which was also attended by senior officers of the DFS, representatives of various public and private sector banks and Indian Banks' Association.
DFS Secretary M Nagaraju highlighted various key initiatives taken by the Department such as adoption of revised DRT Regulations, mandatory e-filing, hearing through video-conferencing, hybrid hearings etc. for reducing turnaround time of the matters adjudicated by the tribunals.
During the meeting, introduction of further reforms to reduce turn-around time for various processes in DRT proceedings etc. were also discussed.
Robust monitoring and oversight mechanisms by banks for increasing recovery through DRTs and use of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms including Lok Adalats for expeditious disposal of cases were also discussed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
From The Hindu, June 12, 1975: Proposals to attract remittances from Indians abroad
New Delhi, June 11: The Union Finance Ministry is examining the feasibility of making it obligatory for Indians taking jobs abroad to remit to the country a certain proportion (about 10 per cent) of their earnings every year. The remittances may be made either to their relatives in the country or credited to a bank account maintained in India. This is among the three proposals which the Reserve Bank of India has been asked to examine in detail and comment upon. The other proposals are: (i) The feasibility of permitting non-resident Indians living abroad to maintain bank accounts in India in the unit of a convertible foreign currency, either the pound sterling or the dollar and (ii) permitting them to invest in company shares in India. The Reserve Bank is already stated to have commented on these proposals in detail. The contents of its note to the Finance Ministry are not known, but they seem to be by and large favourable. The Finance Ministry was prompted to consider the question of permitting non-resident Indians living abroad to keep their remittances to India in the unit of account of a foreign currency to protect their savings from any erosion on account of the fall in the rupee value. Under the existing banking laws, this is not permissible.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Centre trying to kill MGNREGS, says Congress leader Jairam Ramesh
The Congress has accused the government of trying to throttle the flagship rural employment programme — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) — after it was revealed that for the first time since its implementation, the government has capped its spending at 60% of its annual allocation for the first half of the financial year 2025-26. Sharing a screenshot on social media platform X of a media report on the issue, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, 'How to kill MGNREGA in three easy steps — Step I: Starve MGNREGA of funds for a decade, resulting in stagnant wages and a massive rise in pending dues - amounting to ₹21,000 crores as of the beginning of this financial year Step II: Introduce the Finance Ministry's Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plan, restricting MGNREGA expenditure in the first six months of the financial year to 60% of the annual budget.' Step three he said, would be to stop providing work due to budget shortfall after payment of pending dues. 'Step I and II are in motion. Step III is coming soon,' Mr. Ramesh added. He said what needs to be done instead is that MGNREGS wages must be increased to ₹400 per day. He argued that the Aadhar Based Payment Bridge Systems (ABPS) must not be made mandatory. Wages must be paid within the statutory period of 15 days and any delay in payment must be compensated, Mr. Ramesh said. According to sources, this is the first time the government has introduced such a limitation on MGNREGA which is essentially a demand driven programme, where irrespective of the budget, if a beneficiary demands for work, the government has to provide for it. At the beginning of this Financial Year, the government brought the programme under — Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plan, which is a mechanism to regulate government expenditure. Majority of the programmes have a cap of 25% for each quarter. When the Ministry of Rural Development submitted its estimate for the first quarter, it was far beyond 25% of the total budget because of the pending liability. After much back and forth, the Finance Ministry sanctioned that out of the total outlay of MGNREGS of ₹86,000 crores, up to 60% can be spent over the next two quarters. This means that only ₹51,600 crores will be available for the scheme until the end of September.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business Standard
Baseless, false: Finance Ministry denies reports of fee on UPI transactions
The Finance Ministry on Wednesday rejected reports suggesting that a fee would be imposed on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, calling them 'completely false, baseless, and misleading'. 'Speculation and claims that the merchant discount rate (MDR) will be charged on UPI transactions are completely false, baseless, and misleading,' the ministry stated in a post on social media platform X. 'Such baseless and sensation-creating speculations cause needless uncertainty, fear and suspicion among our citizens. The Government remains fully committed to promoting digital payments via UPI.' Understanding MDR and current policy MDR is a fee paid by merchants to banks for processing real-time digital transactions. Currently, UPI and RuPay debit card payments attract no MDR, a policy implemented through the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This zero-MDR regime has been in effect since it was announced in the FY22 Budget to boost digital adoption. Previously, merchants paid a fee of under 1 per cent of the transaction amount. With UPI becoming the dominant retail payments method and RuPay gaining traction, many experts argue that a complete waiver on MDR may no longer be sustainable. Industry appeals for MDR reinstatement Several industry stakeholders have questioned the long-term viability of the zero-MDR model, highlighting the cost burden on banks and payment service providers. Earlier this year, the Payments Council of India — representing digital payment service providers — wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the reintroduction of MDR. The council recommended a 0.3 per cent MDR on UPI payments made to large merchants and proposed a nominal, fixed MDR on all RuPay debit card transactions. Government maintains support through incentives To promote continued adoption, the Union Cabinet recently extended a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme designed to compensate stakeholders for the cost of small-value UPI transactions. However, fintech firms have criticised the amount, arguing it is insufficient to support the surging volume of digital payments. UPI continues to show strong growth According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) annual report for FY25, digital payments have surged nationwide. UPI accounted for 185.8 billion transactions during the year — a 41.7 per cent increase from 131.1 billion in FY24.
