The Finance Ministry on Tuesday set a 15-day deadline for public sector banks to take pre-emptive action for identifying increasing operational and technical risks. The development comes as Punjab National Bank on Monday claimed that the amount of fraudulent transactions could be Rs 1,300 crore more than the current estimate of Rs 11,380 crore.

The deadline is to “learn from best practices and pinpoint strategies including tech solutions, clear accountability of senior functionaries”, Financial Services Secretary Rajeev Kumar said on Twitter.

Kumar said the ministry had directed the managing directors of all state-run banks to detect frauds and consequential wilful defaulters on time and refer the cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The banks have also been asked to examine all non-performing assets above Rs 50 crore for possible fraud.

Billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, has been accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of nearly Rs 12,703 crore.

On February 20, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had blamed the auditors of Punjab Nation Bank for not utilising its authority effectively to prevent its scam. The finance minister had said that agencies involved in banking supervision must also assess the additional mechanisms they have put in place to check fraud.