Villages over 2000 population to get a bank branch

PATNA: There is good news for villages having a population of 2,000 as deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday said the state government would urge nationalized banks to open branches in such villages across the state by the end of current fiscal.

Modi told media that different banks had opened 800 new branches in the state in the past three years, while the Reserve Bank of India has given licences to set up 148 new branches. In the financial year 2010-11, the banks had disbursed loans to the tune of Rs 25,552 crores, which was 46% more than the previous year, he added.

He said the banks have set up a target of distributing loans to the tune of Rs 43,200 crore in 2011-12 in the state. He said that agriculture loan to the tune of Rs 10,667 crore had been distributed in 2010-11, 49% more than the previous year.

Modi said that banks had been asked to distribute loans by constituting joint liability groups to ward off the need of guarantor. He said the state government was contemplating to constitute Kisan Club in every panchayat. “Farmers repaying their loans on time would be given agriculture loans at three per cent interest rate,” Modi said, urging the farmers to take advantage of the benefit. He said that Kisan Credit Cards would be distributed among the farmers during Krishi Utsav.

The deputy CM said that banks had been asked to provide more loans under the Agriculture Mechanisation Project. He said that during State Level Bankers’ meet, the state government would urge the Union government to lower interest rates on education loan and make it more liberal.