Banks must ensure credit schemes reach eligible citizens: FM Sitharaman

'Difficult situation' caused by unintended people getting benefits of credit programmes now over, she says

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked banks to serve eligible beneficiaries of government credit-related schemes.

Sitharaman, who was at a credit outreach programme in Nagaland, said the trouble phone banking had caused lenders now appeared over. “Indian banks have come out of a very troubled five to eight years, purely because there has not been an undue interference in their function. And today, I'm happy to say many of them have come out of the difficult situation in which they were, as a result of a certain kind of phone banking, which happened at one point in time in India, that cronies got the loans and the eligible citizens were left out. Now I'm encouraging the eligible citizens to get (loans) and not cronies,” Sitharaman said.

She urged banks to start a district-wise campaign for the Prime Minister’s schemes for citizens. There are about 2.3 lakh PM KISAN beneficiaries in the state, but only about 70,927 have been sanctioned Kisan Credit Cards. She appealed banks to cover all eligible beneficiaries by district by November 30.

Banks must announce dates for their outreach programme well in advance and achieve saturation in 16 districts of Nagaland. Lenders can rope in more banking correspondents if necessary, she said.

From September 1-November 30, eligible citizens should have benefited from programmes for which the banks are reaching out, Sitharaman said.