A group of ministers (GoM) on power under finance minister Arun Jaitley met on Monday to seek ways to resolve the bad loan crisis in the sector. The GoM is learnt to have discussed external factors —including irregular payments from distribution companies, shortage in fuel supplies and regulators delay in raising power tariffs — that have led to the stress in the sector, and work out certain solutions, said a source.
Railways and coal minister Piyush Goyal and power minister RK Singh attended the meeting along with top bureaucrats of these ministries.
Power producers have been pitching for a relief from the RBI’s February 2018 circular, asserting that the stress in the sector is caused by factors beyond their control. The circular stipulates a one-day default rule on term loans, which mandates treating a borrower who misses repayments as a defaulter the very next day.
