Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday praised the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for easing cash reserve rules in its bid to promote lending to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. "I am grateful and happy... the Reserve Bank of India is in lockstep with the government," Nirmala Sitharaman said at a media briefing in Mumbai after post-Budget discussions with economists, tax experts, policymakers as well as industry representatives among other stakeholders. Her remarks came a day after the central bank allowed banks to do away with the need to set aside extra cash reserves to small businesses as well as the automobile and housing sectors in its sixth Monetary Policy Review of current fiscal year.