The Hindu : National : Centre preparing guidelines for loans to minorities, says Chidambaram

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Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007
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National

National

Centre preparing guidelines for loans to minorities, says Chidambaram

Special Correspondent

"33 per cent increase in lending to minorities"

NEW DELHI: The Centre will soon come out with guidelines for priority sector lending to minorities, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

He was replying to a question by Telugu Desam Party member S.M. Laljan Basha, whether the Reserve Bank of India had written to the Government that minorities would not get loan on priority basis and what the Government planned to do about it.

Mr. Chidambaram said the RBI had issued two circulars asking lead banks to involve State Minority Commissions in identified districts to create awareness about programmes and schemes for which loans were available to minority communities that comprised Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.

There was a 33 per cent increase in lending to minorities since 2004, but he said more should be done. The answer did not satisfy the members who alleged that lending targets were not being met. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat charged the Minister with "misleading" the House and not implementing even the Prime Minister's instructions on November 24, 2006, conveyed through a letter, for 15 per cent lending to minorities. Ms. Karat said she wrote a letter to Mr. Chidambaram on the subject on December 20, 2006. In his reply on January 3, 2007, the Minister said he had called for the file. "If he does not listen to the Prime Minister, will he listen to us, members?"

He said it was unfortunate that Ms. Karat's letter was not brought to his notice earlier. He said the Government was talking to the RBI and the Indian Banks Association for implementing the lending guidelines.

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