‘Banks should also come to the aid of MSMEs’

Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked bankers to step up lending to the tenant farmers in the State.

“The extent of loans sanctioned to the tenant farmers till date is not encouraging,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said while addressing the 210th State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting on Wednesday.

Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the details of crops being cultivated by the tenant farmers would be available on e-panta. The tenant farmer and landowner would sign agreements in the presence of revenue assistants and submit the same to the banks. “The bankers are requested to sanction loans liberally,” he said.

Banks should come to the aid of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) as well, he said.

“Their accounts may be revitalised under the YSR Navodaya scheme. Effectively use the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. The State government has plans to launch a scheme for micro enterprises in June. The government plans to provide an interest-free loan of ₹10,000 and identity card to the beneficiaries. The scheme is aimed at providing loans to the petty traders. We have some dreams and aspirations. To realise the same, we need your cooperation,” the Chief Minister said.

There was no uniform rate of interest across the State. Banks were charging different rates for six districts under Category-1 and the other seven districts. Also, the interest rates were abnormally high and hovering around 12.5% to 13.5%.

Andhra Bank Managing Director and SLBC president J. Pakeerasamy said that CBS banking services were started in 567 villages across the State and also completed mapping for setting up banks in 229 villages.