New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday attended the meeting of the members of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the national capital. This meeting took place shortly after the Union Budget 2024-25 and the Finance Bill were passed.

The government also introduced some amendments in the Parliament through the Finance Bill. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and other board members of the bank also participated in this meeting. It is believed that budget provisions and the current economic situation of the country would have been the focus of discussion in this meeting.

Concern expressed over low deposit growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed concern over the slow deposit growth of banks after the meeting. She said, 'Banks should think about bringing some innovative and attractive portfolios, so that more and more people deposit money in banks. Right now people have many better options than banks to get higher returns. Stock market is also one of them. This is the reason why retail investment in the stock market has increased rapidly.'

At the same time, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das talked about the unclaimed amount in banks. He said, 'Last year we started a special campaign. In this, all the banks were advised to take information about the unclaimed amount lying with them and take concrete steps to return it to the relatives. The progress in this matter has been satisfactory.'

Emphasis on simplifying the tax system

Earlier on August 7, the Finance Minister expressed confidence in the Union Budget and said that the government wants to simplify the laws and other processes. Through this, the pace of growth will be accelerated and more employment opportunities will also be created. Sitharaman said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to create a simple, efficient and fair technology-driven taxation system in the country.

The Finance Minister said, 'This is why we want to simplify the tax system and remove the complexities of compliance. This will reduce the burden of compliance on taxpayers. We will continue to work further in this direction. This will accelerate development and also create employment opportunities.'

Reserve Bank worried about inflation

Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on July 23. It was the first full budget of the PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Meanwhile, the RBI decided to keep the repo rate steady at 6.5 percent on August 8. This is the ninth consecutive time that the central bank has kept interest rates unchanged.

In fact, the central bank is currently worried about the inflation rate, which remains above its target range. The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee has projected the growth rate of the economy to be 7.2 percent for the financial year 2024-25.