CM for more credit to districts ravaged by farmer suicides

The NABARD and leading banks in the country should make more credit available to the districts from where higher number of farmer suicides have been reported, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here today.
He was addressing a state credit seminar organised by the NABARD.
"Apart from making available increased credit, the banks should also concentrate on water conservation and take a lead in strengthening the agricultural economy," Fadnavis said.
"The agricultural sector is facing several challenges. This has led to a depleted agricultural development rate. 50 per cent of the state's population is dependent on the agricultural sector," he said.

Focus paper presented at the seminar proposes certain initiatives for the development of the agricultural sector.
"Mere papers won't be of much help. Financial institutions need to create a network to deliver the credit facilities right up to the rural level and take concrete steps to run it effectively," Fadnavis said.

Banks need to increase the availability of credit manifold and go beyond figures of loans distributed and recovered and try to check whether the loans have been helpful in development of agricultural produce, he said.
Maharashtra Minister of State for Skill Development Dr
Ranjit Patil said, "Employment is the right of the youths and providing it to them is the duty of the government," and asked industries to make jobs available to them as part of their social commitment.

He said 4.5 crore youths of the state are to be trained in various skills, and apprised that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) would train two lakh youths of the state youths, including 50,000 from Vidarbha region.
Patil assured to effect changes in ITI curriculum to suit the needs of the industry.
Fuel, an NGO that works in the field of counseling, presented a cheque of Rs two lakh to Fadnavis towards its Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyaan.
Amravati district Guardian Minister Pravin Pote, MLAs Anil Bonde, Ramesh Bundile, Ravi Rana, Prabhudas Bhilawekar, Patni, Maharashtra Principal Secretary Deepak Kapoor, state Skill Development Commissioner Vijay Waghmare, Amravati Divisional Commissioner Dnyaneshwar Rajgure, Amravati district Collector Kiran Gitte, UNDP's India Head Clement Hove among others were present.