Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has released an annual credit plan with Rs 5.4 lakh crore presiding over the meeting of the State Level Bankers Consultative Committee (SLBC) meeting in Secretariat on Tuesday. Out of this, Rs.3.75 lakh crore will be allocated to priority sectors and Rs. 1.65 Crores have been allocated to other sectors. For the agriculture sector Rs. 2.64 lakh crore has been set as the credit target.
Chandrababu said that 14 percent more loans will be given to the agricultural sector than before. Dairy, poultry, fisheries, mechanization in cultivation and infrastructure will be given priority. He deplord that during the last five-years the Jagan government has destroyed the banking sector.
For the first time after the formation of the coalition government, a meeting of the state level bankers’ committee was held. CM Chandrababu explained the government’s priorities for bankers. SLBC congratulated CM Chandrababu Naidu who became the Chief Minister for the 4th time.
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, Agriculture Minister Achchennaidu, Union Bank Executive Director Sanjay Rudra, SLBC Convenor CVN Bhaskar Rao, other bank officials and officials of various departments participated in the meeting.
Chandrababu said that the help of bankers is needed for the implementation of DBT schemes and management of development programs. The CM asked the bankers to cooperate in the matter of subsidized loans and assistance to the beneficiaries under various schemes.
The bankers brought to the attention of the CM that the difficulties they were facing required cooperation from the government. The ministers stated that the banking sector was fragmented along with the other systems during the previous government.
The AP government has made it clear that the role of bankers is crucial in the promotion of agriculture sector and industries and strengthening of Dwcra communities.
For the financial year 2023-24, Rs.3.23 lakh crore has been earmarked for the priority sector, while the credit plan target for this financial year is Rs.3.75 lakh crore. The loan target is 16 percent higher than in the past.
Last year the loan target of Rs.2.31 lakh crore was set for the agriculture sector, of which 90 percent i.e. Rs.2.08 lakh crore loans were sanctioned. For the MSME sector an amount of Rs 87,000 crores was projected, which is 26 percent more than the previous year’s Rs 67,000 crore.
