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Cover every household, banks told

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Minister for Information Technology Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday urged banks to reach out to every household in a phased and time-bound manner.

Speaking at the 111th meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee convened by the Punjab National Bank here, he said if the State had to grow in real terms then this growth had to be inclusive covering the last mile customer.

Regarding major challenges facing the State, he said since more than two/thirds population was dependent on agriculture, bankers should ensure that adequate credit flowed to this vital sector.

Indebtedness

Referring to indebtedness of farmers in Haryana, he suggested that a study be conducted to find out the reasons for indebtedness, its total size at present and the capacity of the indebted farmers to absorb fresh credit. Corrective measures must be taken to bring such farmers out of the clutches of the money-lenders, he added.

Punjab National Bank Chairman and Managing Director K. R. Kamath disclosed that the target of credit under agriculture for the financial year 2010-11 had been raised to Rs. 3,75,000 crore from Rs. 3,25,000 crore last year. And in view of recent drought in some States and the severe floods in some other parts of the country, the period of repayment of overdue amount by “Other Farmers” under Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme had been extended up to June 2010.

To provide the benefits of banking services to the common man, it had been decided to provide banking facilities to habitations having population in excess of 2,000 by March 2012. By this arrangement, it is proposed to cover 60,000 habitations across the country, he added.

Mr. Kamath said the focus was on “inclusive growth” to provide banking outlets/services in the unbanked villages having population of over 2,000.

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