Sitharaman explains priorities of government to Reserve Bank of India board

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New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday explained the government’s priorities to the Reserve Bank of India’s central board during their first meeting after presentation of the Union Budget 2021-22.

As per the tradition, the finance minister holds customary meeting with the board members of the RBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) after Budget presentation every year.

The finance minister addressed the 587th RBI central board meeting and informed the members about the key initiatives in the Budget and the priorities of the government, RBI said in a statement.

“Complimenting the finance minister on the budget, the board members made various suggestions for consideration of the government,” it added.

At its first meeting after the presentation of the Budget for 2021-22, the central board of directors also reviewed the current economic situation.

“The board in its meeting reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and various areas of operations of the Reserve Bank, including ways for strengthening of grievance redress mechanism in banks,” it said.

The meeting on Tuesday was chaired by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das through video conferencing. The government’s nominee directors on the board — Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda and Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj — also attended the meeting.

Apart from Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey and Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey were also present. Earlier this month, the finance minister presented a Rs 34.5 lakh crore-budget for 2021-22 in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.