Finance Minister T Harish Rao asks banks to reduce interest rates on loans to women

Finance Minister T Harish Rao asked the bankers to reduce the interest rates on loans given to women from the present 14 per cent.

Finance Minister Harish Rao speaks during the State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting in Hyderabad on Monday

HYDERABAD:  Finance Minister T Harish Rao asked the bankers to reduce the interest rates on loans given to women from the present 14 per cent. Participating in the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting here on Monday, the finance minister told the bankers that women’s self-help groups would promptly repay their loans. It may be mentioned that Harish Rao made a similar request to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi recently.

Meanwhile, Harish Rao directed the bankers to refund the unutilised amounts of social security pensions. “The respective village panchayats should furnish the information relating to Aasara pension beneficiaries who passed away. The bankers should verify and repay the amounts unused in the bank accounts of dead persons by January,” Harish Rao said.

The minister also asked the bankers to handover the unutilised amounts of Rythu Bandhu amounts too. The unutilised farm loan waiver amounts too should be given to the government, Harish Rao said.

The SLBC meeting was presided over by SBI chief general manager Om Prakash Mishra and co-chaired by SDBI deputy managing director B Ramesh Babu.

• Total deposits of the banks grew by  Rs 27,235.70 crore (5.99 per cent ) during the half year 5,35,840.18 crore.
• Total advances of the banks as on Sept 30, 2019, marginally increased by Rs 1,966.11 crore.
• The CD ratio as on Sept 30, 2019, was at 111.28 per cent as against 117.52per cent as on March 31 2019 which is due to 0.37per cent marginal increase in advances and 5.99 per cent growth in deposits.
• During Kharif 2019, banks have disbursed Short Term Agriculture Production Loans of Rs 20,583.79 crores up to Sept 30, 2019 achieving 70.39 per cent of ACP targets.
•  Khammam has been identified under 100per cent digitalisation programme