Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Urges RRBs To Boost Agricultural Credit In North East

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday urged Regional Rural Banks in the North East Region to increase their share in ground-level agricultural credit. Chairing a review meeting in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, she called for greater support to agriculture, horticulture, and allied activities such as piggery, goatery, sericulture, and fisheries.

The Minister emphasised that RRBs, with the backing of their sponsor banks, should expand credit under government schemes and overcome issues related to land records that limit access to agricultural credit, according to a post by Sitharaman's office on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The meeting reviewed the performance of seven RRBs across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. Senior officials from the Department of Financial Services, Reserve Bank of India, Nabard, Sidbi, and chairpersons of RRBs and sponsor banks, including the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, attended the meeting, according to the post.

Officials informed the Minister about improvements in financial performance and technology since regular reviews began in 2022. The RRBs achieved a consolidated capital-to-risk (weighted) asset ratio of 15% in the financial year ended March 2024. Profitability also improved from a net loss of Rs 11 crore in the fiscal 2022–23 to a net profit of Rs 205 crore in the fiscal 2024, while Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) reduced from 15.6% in the fiscal 2022 to 7.3% in the previsous fiscal.

Sitharaman directed the RRBs to “increase credit disbursement under various Government of India flagship schemes such as PM MUDRA and PM Vishwakarma.” She also instructed NABARD to “promote farmer producer organisations in the North East region” and requested state-level bankers' committee meetings to explore opportunities in horticulture, floriculture, sericulture, and animal husbandry.

The Minister also urged RRBs, with the support of sponsor banks and Nabard, to open new banking touchpoints in areas without coverage, particularly in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. She stressed that “every eligible person in the North East region should get covered under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana."