Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Friday announced that it had requested the government to provide it with a fund support of Rs 1,500 crore to help it improve its capital base.

The government-run lender announced the move after reporting a year-on-year increase of 2.4 per cent in net profit for the first quarter of current fiscal.

K R Kamath, chairman & managing director of PNB, said, "We have approached the government and sought Rs. 1,500 crore in the current fiscal."

The Congress-led UPA government has already its decision to provide public-sector lenders with Rs 14,000 crore of additional capital during the running fiscal year to help the banks meet Basel III regulations.

Earlier in the day, PNB announced that its net profit jumped from Rs 1,245.67 crore during the April to June quarter of 2012 to Rs 1,275.32 crore in the same quarter of 2013.

Total income increased from Rs 11,721.97 crore to Rs. 11,746.59 crore over the period of time. However, the bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) also jumped from 3.34 per cent to 4.84 per cent.

In the after-hours trading, PNB shares shed nearly 5 per cent to close at Rs 595.95 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.