NEW DELHI: On the back of agrarian distress spreading to a number of states, the Centre on Tuesday constituted an “Expert Group” headed by the NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand to consider extending financial support to the district cooperative banks. The panel will also look into concerning regulatory measures for the district cooperative banks.
The decision to constitute the Expert Group came following the meeting between the NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya and the Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh on Tuesday. Incidentally, agricultural experts have noted that the blanket ban on deposition of high value currency notes following the decision of demonetisation in the district cooperative banks to a large extent triggered the cash crisis for the farmers, which afterwards got compounded.
The Expert Group headed by Chand will also have members from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ministry of Finance, NABARD, state governments and other stakeholders. The group will also suggest roadmaps to strengthen the district cooperative banks.