By Sandeep Pattnaik
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Bhubaneswar, 18th Nov: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of banks in the state has been dismal, as it has been recorded 70% by September, 2015 in the current year against that of 74% during the corresponding period of 2014, experts said during State Level Bakers Committee (SLBC) Meeting on Thursday. It has been urged upon the banks to increase it to the level of more than 85% during the meeting.
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Though the overall CD ratio in the State is above the benchmarking ratio of 60%, in some districts it is found below 40%. The Lead Branch Managers (LDM) of the districts having CD ration below 40% have been asked to constitute sub-committees of the DCC and take necessary steps to scale up the CD ratio.
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Besides, bankers have been asked to ensure adequate and timely advance of loan to farmers for current Rabi crop. They have also been asked to go for re-phasing of Kraiff loan in view of the draught condition faced during Khariff season, as discussed in the said meeting.
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Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati has directed to revise the unit wise scale of finance for rabi so that adequate money would be available to the farmers to grow the crop and they would not be required to borrow from any other source, during the discussion. The banks have also been asked to ensure 100% agricultural insurance of the crops so as to protect the farmers from any loss caused by calamities.
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Issues relating to improving Credit Deposit ( CD) ratio in the State, financial inclusion for all villages in the State, financing to priority sectors, improving the NPA position, skill development of rural entrepreneurs through RSETI, Adhara seedling of bank accounts, implementation of CGTMSE scheme for advancing loans to small & micro entrepreneurs without asking for guarantee, financing for self employment projects under urban livelihood programme etc. were also prioritized in the meeting.
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Speaking on the financial inclusion aspect, R. Balakrishnan, the state Additional Chief Secretary Finance, emphasized upon covering of all villages in banking service through Banking Correspondence ( BC) and Banking Van models at least once in a week.
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It is to be mentioned here that, during 1st half of the current FY’16 new branches have been opened in the State out of which 30 are in rural area. As of now, a total number of 4727 branches are operating in the State including 2584 rural branches.
