Adopt humane approach on loans to tenant farmers, banks urged

Vijayawada: Agriculture minister K Atchannaidu called upon the banks to adopt a humanitarian approach in providing loans to tenant farmers. Presiding over the 228th State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting at the Secretariat on Thursday to review the progress made till June-end, he urged banks to extend adequate support to primary sector. He said that while nine lakh CCRC cards (Crop Cultivator Rights Card) have been issued to tenant farmers in the state, only two lakh people have been given loans so far.

Stating the government’s objective of bringing 50 lakh acre under nature farming in the next five years, the minister said institutional credit is an important requirement for agriculture since most of the population is dependent on farming and allied sectors for their livelihood.

Atchannaidu said the government has announced policy decisions in six sectors, among which the MSME sector is the main one and banks should come forward in all possible ways to promote it. He appealed to the banks to come forward in extending support to youth in various fields. The state government is setting targets for various banks in relation to the Central government’s schemes such as PM Mudra Yojana, PM Vishwakarma, etc., he said and called for creation of awareness among public on these schemes.

The minister said development was stalled during the last five years as the previous government diverted the funds allocated to various sectors to non-productive needs.

“This government has been working for the past four months to put the state back on development track. Banks should also chip in by providing loans to various developmental and welfare schemes implemented by the Central and state governments,” he said and expressed gratitude on behalf of the state government to the banks for helping to the victims of recent floods in a big way.

Union Bank of India MD and CEO A Manimekhalai said that the state government is moving ahead with the simple and effective governance system, especially with the help of technology. Referring to the performance of the banks, in connection with the implementation of annual credit plan of 2024-25, she said Rs 3.75 lakh crore loans were to be provided under the priority sector, while in the first quarter i.e. as of June 30, Rs 1,36,657 crore target (36 per cent) was met. Similarly, in agriculture sector, 34 per cent of Rs 89,438 crore target has been met while in MSME sector, Rs 87,000 crore loans have been provided achieving 51 per cent of the target.

State Level Bankers’ Committee convenor and Union Bank of India general manager CVN Bhaskara Rao, Reserve Bank of India AP region regional director AO Bashir, UBI AGM and SLBC coordinator Rajababu and officials took part.