VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) has expressed its gratitude to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union Government for setting up an RBI Regional Office in Vijayawada.
In a letter to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, AP Chambers welcomed the appointment of Attah Omar Basheer as the Regional Director and conveyed confidence in his leadership.
Terming the move a major step for AP’s financial ecosystem, AP Chambers President Potluri Bhaskara Rao and General Secretary B Raja Sekhar said the decision reflects the RBI’s commitment to decentralised governance and inclusive development. They called it a “vote of confidence” in the State’s economic potential. AP Chambers submitted a set of key recommendations to strengthen the MSME sector.
These include expanding access to CGTMSE, allowing agricultural land as collateral, capping SME loan interest rates at 9%, reducing dependence on credit ratings, extending NPA classification to 180 days, and introducing a permanent MSME loan restructuring framework. The Chambers urged the RBI to mandate participation of large corporates and PSUs on the TReDS platform and promote digital lending, alternate credit scoring, and financial literacy for MSMEs. They suggested incentives for banks and NBFCs supporting women-led, SC/ST, and rural MSMEs.
It proposed regular RBI ‘Town Hall’ meetings to address MSME concerns and pledged to support financial literacy efforts with the new office.