- NEW DELHI — The Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the Ministry of
Finance, has urged all stakeholders to collaborate in reducing pendency of debt
cases by establishing effective recovery ecosystem.
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- This would facilitate the redeployment of capital locked in
cases pending before Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) for productive use in the
economy.
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- Towards this goal, DFS organised a colloquium of
chairpersons of Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) and Presiding
Officers of Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) in the national capital.
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- Supreme Court Justice SVN Bhatti delivered the keynote
address. The participants included senior officers of the DFS, representatives
of various public and private sector banks and Indian Banks’ Association,
according to the Ministry of Finance.
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- DFS Secretary highlighted the various key initiatives taken
by the department such as adoption of revised DRT Regulations, mandatory
e-filing, hearing through video-conferencing and hybrid hearings etc. for
reducing turnaround time of the matters adjudicated by the tribunals.
Also read: PM Modi asks NDA governments in states to adopt best governance practices
- The colloquium witnessed discussions on wide spectrum of
issues to enhance the efficiency of DRTs.
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- The key areas of deliberations included an effective
implementation of DRT Regulations, 2024; robust monitoring and oversight
mechanisms by banks for increasing recovery through DRTs; prioritisation of
high value cases in DRTs for optimal recovery; use of alternate dispute
resolution mechanisms including Lok Adalats for expeditious disposal of cases;
intensive training of Presiding Officers and other officials of DRTs; and
introduction of further reforms to reduce turn-around time for various
processes in DRT proceedings, etc.
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- Earlier this year, the Finance Ministry launched the
revamped 'Baanknet' e-auction portal which consolidates information on
properties that all public sector banks are putting up for sale and offers a
one-stop destination for buyers and investors to discover a wide range of
assets.
