PSU banks should give loans to small enterpreneurs

Public sector banks should not shy away from lending loans to small industrial ventures, Kerala Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem said today.

The PSU banks are only interested in dealing with corporates who avail loans of huge amounts and were not extending loans to small industrial entrepreneurs.

That will not be allowed, Kareen said in his inaugural address at an investors meet 'invest@kochi 2009' here.

The banks should not harass entrepreneurs in the name of non-performing assets, he said.

The minister said due to land scarcity in the state, small industries are better for Kerala.'But this does not mean that big projects have no scope,' he said.

In 2008, 1565 new small projects were set up in Ernakulam district with a total investment of Rs 460 crore, he said.

For a social security scheme, government had set apart Rs 1 crore, he said.