States that want to waive farmer loans should generate funds themselves: Jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said that the states that want to waive off farm loans have to source funds for the same on their own.

The finance minister made the comment while taking stock of the finances of public sector banks as also the resolution of NPAs, with heads of the lenders. Besides NPA resolution and bank finances, the meeting also featured the government's financial inclusion schemes.

On the farm loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government, he made it clear that states which want to go in for waiver will have to generate funds from their own resources.

RBI, Jaitley said, is in an advanced state of preparing a list of bad loans where



resolution is required under the insolvency and bankruptcy rule. Also, the government is actively working on consolidation of state-owned banks.

Public sector banks made a "stable operating profit" of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2016-17 and had a net profit at Rs 574 crore after making due provisions.

The finance minister observed that there are challenges to credit growth and speedy resolution for all pending NPA cases is the need of the hour.

"The RBI is at a fairly advanced stage of preparing a list of those debtors where a resolution is required through the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process and you will shortly be hearing about it," he told reporters after the meeting.