In the current financial year, there has been a record decline in the provision of credit from banks to the private sector.
According to the sources of the Ministry of Finance, in the first 8 months of this financial year, only 40 and a half billion rupees were given to the private sector, whereas in the same period of the last financial year, more than 225 billion rupees were given to the private sector.
Sources say that last year the banks achieved record profits, but the record decline in lending to the private sector has made it difficult to achieve economic targets this fiscal year.
In the second quarter of the current financial year, the economic growth rate has come down to one percent, while the growth rate was recorded at 2.5 percent in the first quarter.
A proposal to levy an additional tax on banks lending less than the target to the private sector is under consideration.
Banks are proposed to be taxed on lending less than 50 percent of their deposits, with a tax rate of 10 to 16 percent.