ITANAGAR, 28 Jan: Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar on Thursday said that bankers have an important role to play in the economic development of the state.
Addressing a state level bankers’ committee meeting here, Kumar said that banks other than the State Bank of India also have equal responsibility and a role to play in shaping the economic status of the people of the state.
“Bankers in Arunachal Pradesh need to work on activities in creating income generation and financial independence of the people. By giving necessary loans to young and upcoming entrepreneurs, self-help groups (SHG) – especially women SHGs – and promising farmers, we can turn around the economic status of the state,” he said.
Kumar asked the bankers to increase and expedite their loan advances “with special emphasis to SHGs, young and upcoming entrepreneurs, and to agri-horti-related advances.”
He also asked them to work on reaching out to un-banked areas, especially villages and areas with a population of 100 or below.
To facilitate the consumers, every district was assigned to a bank. Under the ‘one district, one bank’ plan, the bank which has adopted a district will organize camps on financial literacy and mobilize loan applications, loan recovery, etc.
The banks will also provide loans to 1,300 SHGs “as per the leads provided by the Arunachal State Livelihood Mission,” it was decided.
Finance Secretary YW Ringu, Industry Secretary Hage Tari, SBI Regional Manager D Mahoto, NABARD GM GK Nair and representatives from the Apex Bank, the ICICI bank, the HDFC, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda and others were present at the meeting. (CS’ PR Cell)