Increase share in ground-level agri credit: FM asks Northeast RRBs

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday directed the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to increase their share in ground-level agriculture credit disbursement with a special focus on horticulture and allied agriculture activities like piggery, poultry, dairy and fisheries, officials said.

Chairing a review meeting of the RRBs in the northeastern states at the civil secretariat here, Sitharaman urged the banks to put greater thrust on the identification of the right beneficiaries while sanctioning loans under various central schemes, they said.

The meeting focused on business performance, upgrading digital technology services, and fostering business growth in allied agriculture and MSME clusters, they added.

Among those present in the meeting were chairpersons of RRBs and sponsor banks, representatives of RBI, NABARD and SIDBI, and senior officers of all the northeastern states.