New Delhi, Jun 10 (IANS): A day after the Centre announced four important initiatives to strengthen 1,514 Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) in the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi government is committed to strengthening the cooperatives and treating them equally with other economic entities.

In a tweet, Shah said: "Four major new policy decisions empowering the Urban Cooperative Banks have been approved: The UCBs can now open new branches without the prior approval of the RBI. This will accelerate their growth. The UCBs can now enter into one-time settlements with borrowers, making them at par with commercial banks.

"The timeframe for UCBs to achieve Priority Sector Lending targets has also been extended until March 31, 2026, since their area operation is confined to urban areas only and as a measure to ensure closer coordination and focused interaction between the RBI and the UCBs, a nodal officer has also been notified.

"The PM Modi government is committed to strengthening the cooperatives and treating them equally with other economic entities."

His remarks came a day after the Centre that to realise Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'Sahakar se Samridhi', four important initiatives were taken to strengthen 1,514 UCBs in the country.

It further said that a detailed discussion was held in this regard by the Shah with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.