‘Loans to SC/ST students still a concern in state’

Ranchi: Jharkhand has registered a continuous growth in the credit deposit (CD) ratio with figures reaching 46.27% till December 31 of the 2023-24 financial year (FY). The CD ratio was 44.44% in 2022-23. This was stated during the 86th state-level bankers’ committee meeting held at Project Bhavan here on Thursday.According to the annual credit plan for 2023-24, the loan disbursement in the agriculture sector in the first three quarters of the current FY was Rs 10,164.66 crore against a target of Rs 17,085 crore, which is 59.49%. The credit disbursement in the micro, small and medium enterprises till December 2023 was also Rs 27,682.45 crore against the target of Rs 26, 675 crore, which is 103.78%.Speaking at the meeting, secretary (finance) Prashant Kumar said the state govt was investing in irrigation to boost the farmers’ income. With the better-paying capacity of farmers, the banks should get more opportunities to lend to them. The state government would also invest around Rs 10,000 crore per year in the Abua Awas Yojna, he mentioned.Kumar also said the slow rate of loan disbursement among ST and SC students is a matter of concern.The executive director of the Bank of India, M Karthikeyan, asked the participating bankers to be more sensitive towards giving loans to ST/SC students.Asserting that banks should achieve a CD ratio of 60% by the next financial year, Karthikeyan also said districts like Bokaro, Chatra, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Dumka, Giridih, Godda, Gumla, Hazaribag, Jamtara, West Singhbhum, Khunti, Koderma, Latehar, Palamu, Ramgarh, Ranchi, Sahibganj and Simedga with less than the state average should improve the figures.The general manager of the Bank of India, Manoj Kumar, said banks have a target to open branches in all villages with a population of above 3,000 by March this year. The outstanding loans of banks in the state have crossed Rs 1.50 lakh crore, which is 16.42% more than those registered in December last year, he added.
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