New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- The finance ministry has asked all banks to process loan applications under the rooftop solar scheme at a faster pace, seeking to bring down the turnaround time to less than 10 days from the current 17 days for public sector banks and 19 days for private banks.

The ministry also wants private banks to enhance their lending under the Rs.75,000 crore flagship scheme, according to two people aware of the development and a government document reviewed by Mint.

The ministry flagged the relatively low participation of private sector banks in financing the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana on 6 October, stating that applications at some lenders were in single digits. Kotak Mahindra Bank received only one application, and ICI...