Referring to the technological, institutional and legal reforms in the financial sector undertaken by the Government, Shri Mukherjee said that these have resulted in significant improvement in the financial health of the Public Sector Banks. The Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have declined considerably from 7.8 per cent on March 31, 2004 to 2.3 per cent on March 31, 2008.
In the case of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), a process of amalgamation and recapitalisation of RRBs with a negative net worth has been initiated, with the result, 196 RRBs have been merged into 85 RRBs. The Government has contributed Rs. 652 crore for the capitalization of RRBs upto December 31, 2008, Shri Mukherjee added.