Bhatti Vikramarka urges banks to support farmers and SHGs

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka urged banks to adopt a humane approach in lending, support crop loans, Indiramma housing, SHGs and MSMEs. Highlighting Telangana’s strong credit-deposit ratio, he stressed timely credit as key for farmers and job creation

Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Monday appealed to bankers to adopt a humane approach in lending and extend generous credit to farmers, self-help groups (SHGs), MSMEs, and beneficiaries of Indiramma housing.

Addressing the State-Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting here, the Deputy Chief Minister stressed that agriculture is the backbone of Telangana’s economy and urged banks not to insist on mortgages or deposits while sanctioning crop loans. “Farmers need timely loans, not harassment. The government has already deposited Rs 30,000 crore into banks towards crop loan waiver and Rythu Bharosa,” he said.

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He said Telangana continued to retain the top spot in per capita income at Rs 3.87 lakh. With a credit-deposit ratio of 126.5 per cent and 33.64 per cent of Annual Credit Plan targets achieved in the first quarter, he said the banking sector was performing well.

Bhatti Vikramarka sought active participation of banks in funding 4.5 lakh Indiramma houses, with Rs 5 lakh investment in each, and in extending loans for internal roads under the HAM project covering 13,000 km. He also urged stronger support for women’s SHGs under the Indira Mahila Shakti scheme and for MSMEs, which he described as the largest job creators in the State.