Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to move the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in Lok Sabha on March 19

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Thursday (March 19) move the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for consideration and passage in Lok Sabha.

It may be recalled that the Bill aims to improve governance and regulation of cooperative banks and it was tabled in Lok Sabha in February by Sitharaman at a time when the Lower House of Parliament was witnessing huge ruckus over Delhi violence.

The Bill also aims to strengthen the cooperative banks in order to prevent a crisis like that faced by PMC bank due to financial irregularities. It also seeks to strengthen cooperative banks by increasing professionalism, enabling access to capital, improving governance and "ensuring sound banking" through Reserve Bank of India.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman had said that the government would amend the Banking Regulation Act."To strengthen cooperative banks, amendments to the Banking Regulation Act are proposed for increasing professionalism, enabling access to capital and improving governance and oversight for sound banking through the RBI," she had said.