Shimla--Smt. Rajwant Sandhu, Chief Secretary urged the bankers to sensitise the farmers about various credit schemes through publications and by holding workshops at grass root level. She said that involving PRIs representatives and associating themselves in the Gram Sabha meetings could bring better results.
She was addressing the State-level Credit Seminar organised by the NABARD here today. She also released State Focus Paper (SFP) prepared by NABARD on the occasion.
Chief Secretary stressed upon issuing Kisan Credit Cards to the left out farmers at the earliest and added that 4.14 lakh cards have been issued so far. She urged the bankers and the District Administration to chalk out a collective strategy to cover all the eligible farmers under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme.
Smt. Sandhu said that the SFP would form the basis of the credit plan for the coming financial year to be prepared by the banks for the State and added that it would detail out the developmental challenges to be met and also suggest measures to facilitate the credit flow for sustainable development.
Chief Secretary said that the SFP would focus upon the potential linked plans for all the 12 districts of the State inclusive of the credit and non credit linkages required for achieving the targets. She said that the banks in Himachal Pradesh would increase their credit flow by atleast 26.74 percent to the priority sector over their current year’s targets so as to achieve the estimated potential of Rs. 6307 crore for the next financial year. She said that the assessment of potential for the agriculture sector was Rs. 2811.17 crore and Rs. 3495.52 crore for the services, manufacturing, housing and education sectors. She said that the banks would now be guided by the projections made in the SFP while developing their annual action plan for disbursement of credit to the priority sector for the next financial year.
Smt. Sandhu said that highest potential for crop loans worth Rs. 1373.73 crore had been identified which represented 48.86 percent of the potential for the agriculture sector. She said that Rs. 1437.44 crore had been envisaged as term loans for various investment credit activities in agriculture which is a 51.75 percent increase over the potential estimates for the year 2010-11. She said that within the investment credit to the agriculture, the highest potential had been identified for animal husbandry sector at Rs. 259 crore, plantation and horticulture at Rs. 162 crore, water resources at Rs. 58 crore and land development at Rs. 87 crore. Rs. 52 crore have been estimated as the potential for food processing sector, she added.
Chief Secretary urged the banks, NGOs and Self Help Promoting Institutions to come forward to support the Self Help Groups in capacity building and marketing efforts so that they become micro entrepreneurs. 55342 Women Self Help Groups have been formed by various agencies and 50767 Self Help Groups have been
credit linked, she added. She said that farmers clubs have been formed to propagate the idea of development through credit and added that these could contribute significantly in dissemination of information regarding agriculture diversification among the farmers. She said that 1271 Clubs have been formed by different banks and NGOs so far.
Shri A.D. Ratnoo, Chief General Manager, NABARD while detailing out the activities of the NABARD informed that financial support amounting to Rs. 392 crores have been extended to the banks of the State for dairy development, plantation and horticulture, farm mechanisation, minor irrigation, land development, SGSY and non farm sectors so far. He said that NABARD had sanctioned total financial assistance of Rs. 2,982.28 crore for taking up 4475 projects for rural infrastructure building and added that an amount of Rs. 240.26 crore have been disbursed to the State during this year for implementing various projects.
Dr. Rajender Singh, General Manager, NABARD welcomed the Chief Secretary.
Shri K.K. Pant, Secretary, Finance, Shri S.K. Bal, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Heads of Departments and bankers attended the meeting.
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