New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Power has sought key changes in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) revised norms for identification and resolution of bad loans in the electricity sector, including ending the 90-day delay in repayment as a trigger for declaring a loan account as non-performing asset (NPA).According to media reports, the ministry has also urged banking secretary Rajiv Kumar’s intervention to extend the timeline for the submission of resolution plan for a defaulted loan account from 180 days to 270 days.The ministry has taken up the matter with the finance ministry as 30,000 MW capacity is at the risk of being declared dud after the RBI issued a revised framework.Borrowers with loans of more than Rs 2,000 crore have been given six months, starting from March 1, to regularise their accounts or be prepared for their plants to be declared as NPA.The ministry has submitted its recommendations after finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia held a meeting of all stakeholders recently to examine the power industry’s demand for special treatment in resolution of stressed assets in the sector. The meeting was called by the finance secretary in compliance with Allahabad high court’s direction.The court took cognisance of the findings of parliamentary standing committee on energy’s report on stressed assets in the power sector. The panel’s report had observed that private power plants involving investment of Rs 1.75 lakh crore could be declared NPAs if urgent intervention was not made by the government. Promoters could not be blamed for this state of affairs as the problem stemmed from factors like fuel shortage and lack of power purchase agreement, which were beyond their control, the report said. The report was finalised before the RBI issued revised framework on resolution of NPAs in February and ended all restructuring schemes in place at the time.The power industry believes the RBI’s revised guidelines are too stringent. The new rules would categorise even one day’s delay in payment of interest or principal as default and force lenders and borrowers to come out with a resolution plan within 180 days. Failing that, stressed assets will automatically go into liquidation.The RBI has so far warded off pressure to dilute its guidelines for the power sector, saying it cannot have separate dispensation for each sector.“The ministry is also likely to write to the state distribution utilities asking them to clear about Rs 14,000 crore dues to electricity generating stations,” an Economic Times story quoted an unidentified ministry as saying . The coal ministry will expedite and ensure increased coal availability through spot and mine auctions, the newspaper reported, quoting another official.Stakeholders including private developers, lenders, the RBI and officials from the ministries of finance, power, coal and oil presented their views in a meeting held by banking secretary this week.The department of financial services will compile all the comments and submit it to the court.India’s bad loan problem continues to aggravate despite both the RBI and the government prodding banks to expedite recovery and clean up their balance sheets.According to the RBI’s bi-annual financial stability report released on Tuesday, a fourth of Indian banks’ loans have turned sour and the worst is yet to come.