Increased risks for banks

Changes in priority sector lending should be revisited

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week issued revised guidelines for priority sector lending by banks. The RBI has said the revised guidelines seek to increase the penetration of credit to previously under-covered areas and regions, focus on small and marginal farmers, and will up investment in health care infrastructure and in the renewable energy sector. The aims of the revisions to the priority sector guidelines are of course commendable. Nobody can question the broader desire to ensure that both vulnerable sectors and remoter regions are given the best shot at lending. Start-ups have also been brought under the