Finance minister says sees merit in state banks' demand for more capital

New Delhi: India`s state-owned banks have made a "strong case" for higher capital infusion by the government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday, adding he saw a merit in the demand.

"This is a strong case that the banks have made and therefore, I do believe that it`s a case which merits the government seriously looking into it," Jaitley told a news conference after a meeting with bankers.

He, however, didn`t specify how much more the government was ready to inject.

Jaitley has budgeted to infuse 79.4 billion rupees ($1.24 billion) in the fiscal year 2015/16 to shore up the capital of the state-run banks. But a central bank deputy governor said on Thursday the budgeted amount was not adequate.