Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government is discussing with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for loan restructuring of companies which are stressed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Chennai International Centre (CIC), Sitharaman said that discussions are on with the RBI on the matter of one-time restructuring of loans.

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Sitharaman also said that discussions are on with the RBI and the banks as to why the interest rate reductions are not passed on to the customers.

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According to her, the reasons for banks not fully passing on the benefit of interest rate reductions are not convincing.

Sitharaman said the government will also consider providing an emergency line of credit to individual owners of businesses while a decision on the suggestion to offer collateral free credit based on pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) bills will be deliberated upon.

Presently the Rs 3 lakh emergency line of credit is being offered to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

She also urged the Indian industries to introspect on how businesses are run and on how the `Aatmanirbhar Bharat` mission could be realised to its full potential.

Pointing out the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for example, Sitharaman said that India is a big market and they should be manufactured in the country without depending on one or two countries.