Banks should work towards Banking the Unbanked: Dr Bhagwat Karad

Dr. Bhagwat Karad, Union Minister of State for Finance, today urged bankers to focus on banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, and funding the unfunded. He was speaking today in Satara at a review meeting on Western Maharashtra’s Financial Inclusion Parameters.

The Minister further stated that the PM Svanidhi scheme provides small loans to those in need without the requirement of collateral or a CIBIL score. On this occasion, the Minister requested that rural banking penetration be increased. He urged banks to shorten the loan disbursement period. Even a developed state like Maharashtra, according to the minister, has room to expand the number of bank branches in rural areas. The Minister stated that banks must work towards this goal.

According to the Minister, the banking industry is a major pillar in our goal of creating a five trillion dollar economy. Dr. Karad went on to say that new voters should be integrated into the banking system by creating bank accounts, and that special camps should be set up to facilitate this. He proposed instilling a competitive culture in the banking sector for the benefit of all. On this occasion, the Minister praised Kolhapur District for its overall achievement on financial inclusion metrics.

He further added that with respect to schemes like Svanidhi, Maharashtra has performed better than national average. However, there is scope for performance improvement in the MUDRA Scheme, where Maharashtra is lagging behind the national average.

On this occasion, the Minister also conducted a performance evaluation of NABARD in the Western Maharashtra region. Jaisiddeshwar Shivacharya Mahaswamiji, Shriniwas Patil, MLA Jaykumar Gore, and representatives from various banks were present on this occasion.