The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Farmers yet to benefit from banking system'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 31, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Farmers yet to benefit from banking system'

By Our Special Correspondent

The Union Finance Minister, P.Chidambaram, with the first prize winners at a Tirukkural competition in Chennai on Sunday. — Photo: V. Ganesan

CHENNAI, JAN. 30. Six crore agricultural families do not get any benefit from banks, the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, said today.

"Of the total 10 crore agricultural families, only four crores either have a bank account or have availed themselves of loans from banks. Similarly, 64 per cent of the population remain outside the banking system. Neither have they gone to the banks nor have the banks reached out to them for opening accounts or providing them loans," Mr Chidambaram said, after presenting the `Aram Award' to DHAN (Development of Humane Action) Foundation, a Madurai-based voluntary organisation, at a function here.

The Minister stressed the importance of the role of non-governmental organisations in ensuring distribution of fruits of development to different sections. "Though the country has progressed in several sectors in the last five decades, the benefits of development were reaped only by certain sections. The Government alone cannot do everything (in rectifying this situation)."

Referring to the growth of self-help groups, he said the Government planned to cover 1.85 lakh SHGs for micro-finance. "This target has already been achieved. We are considering increasing the target for the next year too." The earlier plan was to cover two lakh SHGs annually for the coming two years.

Presenting prizes to the winners of a Tirukkural contest, Mr Chidambaram, said "the work is like a perpetual spring. If you patiently go through it, you can find reference to every subject."

Avvai Natarajan, chairman of the award committee and former Tamil University Vice-Chancellor, said the Shriram Illakkia Kazhagam, literary wing of the Shriram Group, instituted the award to recognise individuals or institutions following the principles enshrined in Tirukkural.

R. Thyagarajan, chairman, Shriram Group, gave an account of different social welfare projects undertaken by his organisation.

M.P. Vasimalai, executive director, DHAN Foundation, receiving the award, said the organisation was training hundreds of individuals for organising micro-credit schemes at the panchayat level.

The first-prize winners of the contest for the three levels of junior and senior school students and college students were G. Devi, St. Joseph Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Gingee; A. Naina Mohammed, U.A.A.T. Higher Secondary School, Thanjavur; and M.I. Senthil Kumar, Dhanapandian Polytechnic, Madurai.

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