VIJAYAWADA: Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath urged the bankers to achieve targets set for issuance of credit to SC and ST beneficiaries under different schemes, tenant farmers and others.Chairing the 225th State Level Bankers Meeting (SLBC) held at the Secretariat on Thursday, the Finance Minister was all praise for the rise in extending credit to various schemes being implemented in the State and increasing the growth rate in achieving the annual credit plan targets.
The meeting discussed the action taken on the issues highlighted during the previous SLBC and banking key indicators by September. Buggana urged the banks to lend liberally to the Pala Velluva programme being implemented by the government.
At the same time, he specifically urged the bankers to extend loans to tenant farmers, while pointing out that only Rs 75,000 crore lent against the target of Rs 4,000 crore for three lakh tenant farmers in the State. He urged the bankers to extend loans to the housing scheme beneficiaries, especially TIDCO and also to the Central sponsored schemes such as PM Mudra Yojana.
Union Bank of India Executive Director Nitesh Ranjan said by implementing various welfare schemes in a transparent manner, social economic growth of the State can be ensured and said village/ward secretariats and RBKs will help make it possible. He assured the cooperation of banks to the reforms brought in education and health sectors.
SLBC Convener and UBI General Manager M Ravindrababu gave PowerPoint presentation of the SLBC’s agenda. Against the target of Rs 1.48 lakh crore credit for Kharif and Rabi under short term crop loans, Rs 82,329 crore worth loans were extended in Kharif, which is 56% of the target, he said.
Against agriculture term loan target of Rs 68,000 crore, in the first two quarters, Rs 43,300 crore (64%) was extended. Under the farm credit, Rs 1,25,629 crore was given against the target of Rs 2.16 lakh crore. Under agriculture infra and ancillary units, Rs 15,303 crore was given against the target of 15,000 crore, he highlighted.