Amid post-budget deliberations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman used a Monday press conference—after RBI board talks—to lambast banks for mis-selling, insisting they recommit to core functions over coercive product bundling. ‘This is criminal and will not stand,’ she stated unequivocally.
Her persistent advocacy hit home with RBI’s binding instructions against mis-selling. Illustrating the problem, she described loan seekers with solid backing being nudged toward unneeded insurance—a practice set to end.
Sustainable profits lie in loan books and deposit growth, particularly CASA, she advised. Rejecting prior bank demands for funds, she had pushed CASA as the smarter path to liquidity.
Navigating U.S. tariff escalations to 15% for 150 days starting late February, per presidential order post-court verdict, Sitharaman held back on judgments. Commerce is assessing; delegations will chart trade courses, delaying India-U.S. interim accord talks.
India’s trade portfolio boasts deals with UAE, Qatar, Oman, Australia, New Zealand, EU, and UK, signaling intent to weave deeper into world markets for economic heft.
Explaining gold surges, she pointed to central banks’ voracious appetite for gold and silver globally. India’s household gold fixation, festival-boosted, endures. Vigilant tracking by powers-that-be keeps rises non-threatening currently.