New Delhi, July 6 (KNN) The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the major challenges before the Government include strategy to improve the overall performance of Public Sector Banks, to make stalled projects functional and economically viable and to increase private sector investment among others.

Chairing the 15th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), he said, “Due to better spread of monsoon, we are expecting higher production of pulses this year compared to previous years which in turn will substantially ease their prices in the market.”

The meeting was attended among others by Jayant Sinha, MoS Finance, Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI, Ashok Lavasa, Finance Secretary, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs

On this occasion, the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Dr Arvind Subramanian said that with the revival of sentiment and certain signs of pick-up in industrial activity, a good monsoon is expected to further strengthen growth in India.

The Council noted that uncertainty in global economy and high volatility in the financial markets are prominent risks confronting the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs). India however appears to be much better placed today on the back of improvement in its macro-economic fundamentals, recent financial sector reforms by Government and large forex reserves, which provides cushion against financial market volatility.

Members agreed on the need to continue to be in a state of preparedness for managing any external sector vulnerabilities, including those emerging from Brexit and its consequences. (With PIB inputs)