Nirmala Sitharaman gives banks 3 months to cover KCC beneficiaries

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Aug. 23 (EMN): Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday directed banks to reach out to all eligible citizens of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) in the entire state within three months, as the official record showed less than 50% benefitted from it.

The total target of the PM Kisan Credit Card for the state of Nagaland was 2.3 lakh beneficiaries (including farmers, animal husbandry, and fisheries). But only 70,927 have been sanctioned, she said while addressing the Bankers’ Conclave and Credit Outreach programme at Capital Cultural Hall in Kohima, on Tuesday.

She expressed dissatisfaction with the low number of KCC beneficiaries and directed banks to undertake outreach district-wise from September 1 onwards.

“By November 30 (and before Christmas), all eligible citizens to have benefitted from each one of the eligible programmes should have had banks reaching out to them. For this, banks will have to come out of their comfort zone and bring in the focus of those who are exclusively dependent on keeping a piggery or fishery as their activity,” she said.

The KCC is for every farmer including crop cultivator, livestock, and fishing. In the KCC animal husbandry and fisheries, 1.38 lakh of the total farmers in the state are involved, which need to be improved, she said.

She suggested achieving saturation of those districts where there are fewer KCC beneficiaries and taking in more banking correspondents if necessary.

“However, focus on the districts one at a time. All the banks should be present and ensure that the district achieves saturation and move on to the next,” the minister said.

She expressed hope that the government schemes are executed in such a way that all eligible citizens are covered and no one is left unattended.

“Access has become one of the important challenges owing to the nature and terrain of the state. The only way to overcome the challenges is through the digital revolution, connectivity, and the telephone or wireless sector including mobile phones.

“For a state like Nagaland, where the headquarters and even blocks have become a bit distant for villages to reach out to bank facilities, the need for a banking correspondent is absolutely essential. Therefore, banks are expected to keep themselves adapted and up to date on technologies which enable mobile banking even as one can access all the services through mobile phones,” Sitaraman said.

She also stated that Nagaland has done well in Atal Pension Yojana, Mudra scheme, and Stand-up India scheme.

Rio urges banks to increase credit flow

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, in his address, urged banks to put more effort into increasing the credit flow to those who require it for running their enterprises, assuring them of the state government’s support.

“People of the state are encouraged to take up a private enterprise but to meet their rising aspirations, access to credit and financial services from banks has been a concern. The limited access has implied that entrepreneurs’ have been dependent to a large extent on informal lending.

“Large proportion of the credit by banks, other than that extended under various government schemes, has been for consumer goods or housing loans. While this is essential, it is also imperative to increase the credit flow to those who require it for running their enterprises. This is a critical area where banks have to put in more efforts”, Rio added.

CM’s micro finance initiative launched

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman jointly launched the Chief Minister’s Micro Finance initiative on Tuesday. During the launch event, the CM said it would make credit more affordable and available to individuals, Self Help Groups and Farmer Producer Organisations.

He further informed that the additional credit of INR 200 – INR 250 crore will be disbursed during the year. It would help increase farmers’ incomes, promote credit discipline, encourage private enterprise and improve the Agri marketing network and infrastructure in the State. He hopes that banks, including private banks, will utilize this initiative effectively.

26 blocks still unbanked

Rio also said the private banks should also expand their network of branches, and not limit only to Dimapur and Kohima. He urged them to cover the remote towns, and especially the unbanked 26 of the 74 blocks.

“We will be happy to support the private banks in their credit outreach activities, to facilitate the expansion of their credit portfolios so that they take on a greater share of priority sector lending”, he added.

The Finance Minister earlier launched the Axis bank branch in Mon along with the virtual launch of Axis bank branches in Assam and Meghalaya. She also flagged off a mobile ATM van of Nagaland Rural Bank, which is funded by NABARD under the financial inclusion fund. It was followed by her visit to exhibition stalls. She also launched two projects under the NABARD and virtually inaugurated the Chessore Branch of Nagaland Rural Bank in the Shamator district.

SIDBI, IDAN exchange MoU

A Memorandum of Understanding executed on Aug. 22 has been exchanged between the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the Government of Nagaland (represented by the Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland). Under the MoU, the SIDBI will support IDAN by funding one High-Impact Entrepreneurs from Emerging Regions for Action (HiEERA) Development Cycle in Nagaland at the cost of INR 118.26 lakh.

CEO of IDAN, Alemtemshi Jamir said through the development cycle sponsored by SIDBI, the state expects to rope in 150 entrepreneurs that will eventually give birth to 10 HiEERA enterprises, creating 250 direct employment and 2500 indirect employment. It will also create 100 additional enterprises around the HiEERAs, which will absorb INR 250 crore of additional direct investment and additional INR 500 crore indirect investment and grants.

SLBC extends INR 223 crore to 3837 borrowers

In a major boost to increase the credit flow, banks and financial institutions operating in the state under the aegis of the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) extended credit of INR 223 crore to 3837 borrowers under various schemes as well as retail loans to people of Nagaland.

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman handed over the cheques of 11 major schemes with a total value of INR 205 crore to 3422 borrowers.

The schemes/ loans and the amount extended to beneficiaries are as follows:

Name of scheme	Amount (INR in crore)	Beneficiaries	Target group
Prime Minister Employment Generation programme (PMEGP)	14.19	134	For unemployed youths and traditional artisans etc
Kisan Credit Card (KCC)	13.54	1418	–       Farmers –individuals / joint borrowers who are cultivators. Self Help Groups (SHGs) or Joint Liability Groups of farmers including tenant farmers, share croppers, etc.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)	18.81	551	Business Enterprises in Manufacturing, Services Sector and Trading including allied agricultural activities
Stand Up India (SUI)	3.40	11	ST, SC and Women entrepreneurs
Self Help Group (SHG)	4.80	193	SHGs (10-20 members) from weaker sections have a common interest.
PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)	0.5	60	Street vendors in possession or under the process of registration of Certificate of Vending / Identity Card issued by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs); Vendors who have gone back to their native places due to COVID-19
PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME)	3.7	3	Individual category -Micro Food Processing enterprises and Group category- FPOs / SHGs/Producer, Cooperatives
Retail segment including loans like personal, pension, Auto, Demand and overdrafts on Term deposits etc.	76.54	809	Mainly the salaried class is covered under these set of products.
MSME Loans	55.57	189
Housing Loans	17.15	47
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)	1.6	7	Financial assistance to individuals/groups including street vendors/hawkers of urban poor for setting up gainful self-employment ventures/ micro-enterprises, suited to their skills, training, aptitude and local conditions. The programme also supports Self Help Groups (SHGs) of urban poor to access easy credit from banks and avail interest subsidy on SHG loans.