New Delhi, May 20 (IANS): The banking sector has witnessed a profit of Rs 3 lakh crore for the first time in the FY 2023-24.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded banks for this remarkable achievement and said that the condition of banks has improved a lot in the last 10 years, adding that this has helped the poor, farmers, and MSMEs to get credit.

In a social media post, PM Modi said: "In a remarkable turnaround in the last 10 years, India's banking sector net profit crosses Rs 3 lakh crore for the first time ever."

Slamming the Congress party, PM Modi said that the UPA phone banking policy caused big losses and NPA to banks.

"When we came to power, our banks were reeling with losses and high NPAs due to the phone-banking policy of UPA. The doors of the banks were closed for the poor."

"This improvement in the health of banks will help improve credit availability to our poor, farmers and MSMEs," the PM added.

For the first time, banks' profit crossed the Rs 3 lakh crore mark in FY 2023-24 with 39 per cent growth on a YoY basis. During this period, public sector bank profit jumped to Rs 1.4 lakh crore with an increase of 32 per cent on a YoY basis, and private banks reported Rs 1.7 lakh crore profit in the last financial year with an increase of 42 per cent on a YoY basis.

In the last 10 years, banks witnessed a major turnaround as their balance sheets strengthened and there was a significant decline in non-performing assets (NPAs) which has caused higher profits.