Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (KM)

Udupi, Mar 27: Banks must consider the agriculture sector equal to small scale industries in terms of priority while lending loans, suggested Hemalatha P, deputy commissioner. 

She was addressing the gathering after releasing the district loan scheme at district-level developmental advisory committee meet held at the Udupi zilla panchayat auditorium here on Tuesday March 25.

Small scale industries are only the option left, as people are losing their interest in agriculture and the number of dependents on agriculture is also decreasing year by year. Hence banks must promote small scale industries by extending financial assistance, she suggested.

Rs 243 crore has been lent as loan to the agriculture sector against reserved Rs 168 crore during the year 2007, but only a loan of Rs 178 crore has been sanctioned to small scale industries, she stressed.

Banks must assist the district administration in identifying people who are below poverty line (BPL), she added requesting banks to provide her the information about the BPL card holders who have taken loans that exceed Rs 1 lac.

Syndicate bank having Rs 5548 crore as deposit has lent loan of Rs 2504 for the year 2007-08, said deputy general manager Sujir Prabhakar.

N S Prasanna Kumar, CEO of ZP, Udupi presided over the programme, assistant general manager of NABARD Praveen Raj Udupa, manager of Reserve Bank of India, Nagesh Raikar, planning director of ZP and others were present on the occasion.