FM, bankers, CMs to discuss credit flow, fin inclusion

Amidst concerns of economic slowdown, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will review the problems concerning credit offtake and farm sector lending in a meeting with Chief Ministers of western and central region, and heads of PSU banks, in Mumbai on September 17.

The meeting will discuss the progress of centrally-sponsored schemes, state-wise flow of credit to the agriculture sector, credit-deposit ratio and loan to weaker section of society among others, official sources said.

Implementation of Aam Admi Bima Yojana (insurance for common man) and co-contributory pension scheme Swavalambam, important priorities of the UPA-II government, would also be reviewed in the meeting among others, they added.

Financial inclusion, payment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and revival of short-term cooperative credit are also key discussion points of the meeting.

It has been decided to provide appropriate banking facilities to habitations having population in excess of 2,000 by March 2012, Mukherjee had said in this year's Budget speech.

"The banks have identified about 73,000 such habitations for providing banking facilities using appropriate technologies," he had said.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of slowdown in GDP growth and food inflation surpassing the double digit mark. The economic growth rate for the first quarter of the current fiscal slipped to 7.7%, the lowest level in the last one-and-a-half years.

At the same time, industrial growth in the country stood at 8.8% in June.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will attend the meeting. Heads of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have also been called for the meeting.

The meeting will also take stock of the financial performance of the banks. The credit flow to the productive sectors would also be assessed.

Last year, similar meetings were held across all the regions of the country where chief ministers interacted with the Finance Minister and the heads of the public sector banks.