VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated bankers for achieving the State Annual Credit Plan target in the first nine months of the current fiscal itself. Addressing the 222nd State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting on Friday, he said the bankers exceeded the target by registering 124.69% growth. However, he emphasised the need for lending more to education and housing as only 42.91% and 33.59% targets were achieved in the two sectors. He wanted the bankers to adopt a positive approach towards the two sectors and move ahead with a proactive action plan for extending loans for socio-economic development.
Elaborating on the importance of the two sectors, he said the government has so far distributed 30.75 lakh house sites to eligible women free of cost. Sand is being supplied free of cost for the construction of houses to beneficiaries, while steel and cement are being supplied at subsidised rates.
Reminding the bankers that they had agreed in the previous meeting to provide a loan of Rs 35,000 to each beneficiary additionally at a 3% interest rate, which will be reimbursed by the government, he urged them to provide loans for the rest of the beneficiaries. The government will take up construction of an additional three lakh houses in April, adding that a total of 30.75 lakh houses will be built for the poor. The bankers should extend loans to all the beneficiaries as the worth of each house will go up from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh once it is ready. In this context, the bankers should become proactive and extend more loans to the beneficiaries, he suggested.
With regard to the agriculture sector, he said only 83.36% of the target has been met pertaining to short-term crop loans. The SLBC should initiate measures to achieve the target. A sum of Rs 1,126 crore has been provided as loans to tenant farmers in the first nine months of the current fiscal against the target of Rs 4,000 crore to 1,63, 811 tenant farmers, which is 49.37% of the credit plan target.
“Banks must stand by the tenant farmers and provide them loans liberally as the Rythu Bharosa scheme is being implemented for them and details of the cultivation are being e-cropped through Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs). Digital as well physical receipts for the same are being given to farmers. Hence, higher amount of loans should be granted to the tenant ryots,” he stressed.
He also said while banks are paying only 4% interest on the savings of women’s self help groups (SHGs), they are collecting more interest on the loans granted to them. Hence, the banks should reconsider it and pay more interest on savings of women’s groups. “This is a very important issue as it is related to nearly one crore women members of SHGs. Banks should chalk out a solution to it. Due to our government’s efforts, today there are no NPAs in SHGs. With the help of zero interest loans, Cheyutha and other programmes, women SHGs in AP have emerged as a role model to others. Banks should be more liberal towards them,” he asserted.
Lauding the bankers for extending loans liberally to petty traders, he urged them to display the same enthusiasm in future also while supporting the Jagananna Thodu scheme. At a time when the government is trying to change the rural landscape through RBKs, digital libraries, English medium schools, village and ward secretariats, skill development centres in all Assembly constituencies and a skill development university for improving the skills of the youth and make them stand on their own, it is a must for banks to play more proactive role and encourage the changing economic scenario, Jagan said and added that the banks should play key role in building these institutions.
Highlighting the success of the Global Investors Summit that attracted investments worth Rs 13,05,663 crore from 352 MoUs, which will provide employment to 6,03,223 people, he appealed to the bankers to come forward to extend loans to the entrepreneurs and the ancillary MSMEs to achieve rapid economic growth.
