7 districts selected for 100% fin inclusion
KARNATAKA STATE-LEVEL BANKERS' COMMITTEE MEET
| A decision to this effect was taken at the Karnataka State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) meet here on Tuesday, whereby financial inclusion is to be achieved through the extension of banking services with opening of no-frills accounts and by issue of general purpose credit cards. |
| A sub-committee meeting held on June 20 prepared a roadmap for 100 per cent coverage in the district and also approved other banks' plans, said C P Swarnkar, chairman and managing director, Syndicate Bank, and also chairman of SLBC-Karnataka. |
| Similarly, the other lead banks have also selected one district each for their 100 per cent financial inclusion like Syndicate Bank (Bagalkot), Canara Bank (Davanagere), State Bank of Hyderabad (Koppal), State Bank of Mysore (Chamarajanagar), Corporation Bank (Madikeri) and Vijaya Bank (Haveri). |
| According to Swarnkar, the aggregate agriculture credit disbursal target for the present year (2006-07) is Rs 14,646 crore. But the actual disbursement last year (2005-06) was Rs 11,811 crore, which works out to a growth of 24 per cent. |
| Total turnover of export credit extended by commercial banks in Karnataka registered a growth of 31.35 per cent to touch Rs 8,505 crore in the financial year 2005-06 as against Rs 6,475 crore clocked in 2004-05. |
| The banks disbursed Rs 11,811 crore farm credit as against the annual target of Rs 9,912 crore, accounting for 119 per cent achievement. Swarnkar explained that banks have sanctioned credit limit of Rs 109 crore to 1,753 farmers for taking up horticulture projects under the National Horticulture Board subsidy scheme. |
| About 5.57 lakh new farmers have been brought into the institutional fold by providing financial support of the order of Rs 3,518 crore of which commercial banks and regional rural banks (RRBs) accounted for 4.13 lakh (Rs 2,963 crore) with 129 per cent achievement of annual target, he added. |
| The advance to agri-sector extended by all banks was Rs 16,676 crore, accounting for 19.46 per cent of the total advance, exceeding the norm of 18 per cent stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). |
| According to Swarnkar, under the annual credit plan, banks in Karnataka have disbursed Rs 17,358 crore to priority sectors during the last year as against the annual target of 15,026 crore thereby achieving 115.51 per cent of the set annual target. |
| Based on the previous year's performance and the district plans, the target of Rs 21,579 crore under priority sector credit has been fixed in the present fiscal (2006-07), thereby recording a 24 per cent growth under agri-credit and 25 per cent growth under small scale industries (SSI) and other priority sectors. |