State level bankers meeting held in Himachal

Shimla : The 109th meeting of State level Bankers Committee to review the progress in the Banking and Finance Sectors and Performance under Annual Credit Plan 2007-08 was held here today. Ripan Murgai, General Manager and Convenor, State Level Bankers Committee presided over the meeting.

Arvind Mehta, Secretary, Finance in his inaugural address called upon the banking sector to reach out to the masses and supplement the efforts of the State Government to make Himachal Pradesh, a model State for inclusive growth. He stressed upon the need for cost effective, easily accessible and productive credit to the poorer sections in the State and asked the banks to address the problem of unemployment more effectively by creating self-employment opportunities.
He stressed on the need to focus upon the agriculture and irrigation sectors and added that the banking sector has extended a total credit of Rs. 1834.61 crores since April to September, 2007 in the State out of which 76.28 percent of the credit was provided to priority sectors like agriculture, small scale industries and the services sector.
Mehta stressed upon the need for technical inclusion in the State in order to provide banking services at the door steps of the people and said that UCO bank has started a Pilot Project for 100 percent technical inclusion in Sirmaur district. He said that UCO bank has taken the lead in mass financial awareness and credit counseling campaign throughout the State.
Ripan Murgai, General Manager and Convenor, State Level Bankers Committee welcomed the Chief Guest and detailed about the activities of banking sector in the State. He said that Punjab National Bank has introduced an innovative No Frill Saving Bank Account with an overdraft facility of upto Rs. 500 as next step to financial inclusion. He said that banks have issued 3,28,295 kisan credit cards to farmers in the State and were providing credit upto 3 lacs at the rate of 7 percent with Personal Accident Insurance Cover and Crop Insurance at nominal and hugely subsidized rates of premium.
Murgai said that the State has a wide spread branch network of 1278 bank branches with deposits of Rs. 21993.40 crores and loans of Rs. 10713.09 crores as on 30th September, 2007 and added that the credit deposit ratio in the State has increased to 55.46 percent till September, 2007.