Bankers have responded positively to the appeal made by Agriculture Minister K Achchennaidu seeking loans to tenant farmers in the state with a humanitarian approach. He made this appeal presiding over the 228th State Level Bankers Committee meeting held on Thursday.
Manimekhalai, CEO of Union Bank of India, which is the lead bank in the state, said that they will take a decision on it within 15 days. Moreover, he also said that banks will provide cooperation in accordance with the development goals of the Vision-2047 document in AP.
He said that the banks will fully cooperate in the implementation of P4 policy and the implementation of digital program objectives, which are being implemented on the basis of effective governance by the government. He mentioned that Rs. 1,36,657 crore loans have been disbursed in the first quarter of Rs.3.75 lakh crore loans under the priority sector for the implementation of the annual loan plan for 2024-25.
Responding to this, the Special Chief Secretary of the State Agriculture Department, B. Rajasekhar asked the banks to provide loans and support to the tenant farmers who have CCRC cards.
On this occasion, Atchennaidu said that CCRC cards have been issued to 9 lakh tenant farmers in AP as an agriculture based state. But he deplored the banks providing loans to only 2 lakh people so far. He also said that the government has decided to bring 50 lakh acres under natural irrigation in the state in the next five years.
Atchennaidu suggested that banks should make plans to encourage micro, small and medium enterprises. He reminded that the AP government has set targets for various banks in connection with PM Mudra Yojana, Vishwakarma etc. However, he expressed concern that it is not being properly implemented at the field level.
On the other hand, Reserve Bank officials have advised banks to be careful in the case of consumption loans. They suggested that measures should be taken to use QR code in connection with digital transformation. They said that the Reserve Bank has started pilot projects in Kakinada and Machilipatnam regarding digital currency. Officials revealed that Sidbi is providing financial support to food processing clusters.