VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in a Mega Credit Outreach Programme jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Finance and Public Sector Banks at Narasaraopet in Palnadu district on Friday, and distributed loans worth Rs 3,216 crore to 1,03,246 beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries, who received cheques and loan sanction letters, included 15,000 DWCRA women, 13,355 entrepreneurs, farmers, tenant farmers, street vendors and transgenders. Of total beneficiaries, around 70,000 received institutional credit for the first time.
Addressing a gathering, the Chief Minister said Palnadu should emerge as a major destination for entrepreneurs. “The objective is to ensure that every eligible individual-farmer, students, women from self-help groups and entrepreneurs get access to credit. Banks are not merely lending institutions but key partners in Andhra Pradesh’s growth,” he noted.
Naidu said Andhra Pradesh had inherited severe financial distress two years ago, but had regained momentum with the support of the Centre.
CM Naidu praises Sitharaman for banking reforms aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047
The long-standing aspirations of the people on Amaravati, Polavaram and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant are now being realised. Andhra Pradesh is set to receive Rs 7,707 crore from the Centre under the VB-GRAM G programme. The Centre is also extending financial support to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore to transform Rayalaseema into a horticulture hub, he explained.
Lauding Nirmala Sitharaman, he said she had spearheaded major banking and financial sector reforms, strengthened the banking system through consolidation, accelerated the digital banking revolution, expanded financial inclusion through Jan Dhan Yojana and brought greater transparency to the tax regime. “Many of these reforms are aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047,” he said.
Highlighting the success of women’s self-help groups in Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister said nearly 10 lakh DWCRA groups have mobilised Rs 29,000 crore savings, and maintained an outstanding repayment rate of 99.5%, making them among the best-performing self-help groups in the country.
Announcing the expansion of the initiative, the Chief Minister said similar Credit Outreach Programmes will soon be organised in six more districts of Andhra Pradesh, and subsequently they will be held once every three months to deepen financial inclusion across the State.
Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to ensure banking services reach every village in the country. She mentioned that when she assumed office, the banking sector was burdened with high NPAs and small entrepreneurs often struggled to secure credit. To address this challenge, the Prime Minister introduced guarantee-backed schemes that enabled banks to lend more confidently to small businesses and first-time borrowers. “Today, banks themselves are reaching out to entrepreneurs and extending loans at their doorstep,” she said.
As part of CSR initiative, Union Bank of India donated an ambulance worth Rs 42.16 lakh to the Government Hospital at Piduguralla. NABARD also provided two mobile demonstration vans worth Rs 25 lakh to the DCCB. In addition, 301 bicycles worth Rs 17.80 lakh were distributed to girl students. A regional rural bank donated two battery-operated vehicles worth Rs 14 lakh to the Tourism Department. The CM distributed tricycles to persons with disabilities on the occasion.
Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, MPs Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and Bhashyam Ramakrishna, several MLAs and bank officials ended.