Overview

• Speaking at Bank of Maharashtra’s 91st Foundation Day in Pune, the finance minister said strong fundamentals, a young population and domestic demand underpin resilience.
• She credited recent performance to proactive fiscal and monetary policies, structural reforms, and large physical and digital infrastructure built over the past decade.
• India’s GDP expanded 7.8% in the April–June quarter, following an estimated average growth of about 8% during 2021–22 to 2024–25.
• Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju urged public sector banks to increase lending to MSMEs, prioritize education loans with no application rejected, and boost credit to agriculture and allied activities.
• He also called for vigilance on loan quality, as Sitharaman praised banks’ performance and noted UPI’s recognition by the IMF as a model for interoperable digital payments.