‘Need for strengthening of governance standards’

Mumbai, Aug 26:  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday emphasised on strengthening governance standards. Addressing a meeting of managing directors and chiefs of select non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs), Das said that governance standards and assurance mechanisms such as compliance, risk management and internal audit should be made stronger, reads a statement issued by the RBI. In the meeting, which was held in Mumbai, ways to contain the increasing reliance on bank borrowings, risks associated with high credit growth in the retail segment, prioritising the upgrade of IT systems and cyber security were also discussed, the statement said. Das also discussed ways to strengthen balance sheets with improved provisioning cover and monitoring of stressed exposures and slippages. It was also ensured that robust liquidity and asset-liability management should be ensured. In addition to this, adherence to the fair practices code, including robust grievance redress mechanism, were also discussed, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government’s priority is to tame inflation to ensure sustained economic growth. Addressing the B20 Summit India, being hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister said the GDP numbers for the first quarter, to be released this month, should be good. Observing that elevated interest rates for considerable time hampers recovery, Sitharaman said, “my priority is to tame inflation.” Retail inflation soared to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, mainly on account of spiralling prices of tomatoes and vegetables. On growth, she said India has been able to accelerate the pace of economic reforms and the first quarter GDP numbers “should be good.”