RBI to launch schemes for raising credit flow to northeast
May 20th, 2011 - 12:35 am ICT by IANSAgartala, May 19 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to introduce bankable schemes and open financial literacy and credit counselling centres in the northeast to improve the credit flows to the region, its governor D. Subbarao said Thursday.
“The RBI has intensified its efforts to enhance credit flow to the industry starved northeastern states,” Subbarao told reporters after the first ever central board meeting of the apex bank here.
“For faster development of the region, it was equally important to raise its credit absorptive capacity. For this purpose, the RBI has been encouraging banks to introduce bankable and viable schemes, open financial literacy and credit counseling centres in northeast.”
Subbarao, accompanied by four RBI deputy governors and top officials came to Agartala Wednesday and inaugurated a RBI’s first sub-office in Tripura capital and addressed at a seminar on financial inclusion.
“To educate the people about the banking services and banking importance, ‘financial literacy day’ would be observed in one village in each blocks of northeast India,” he said.
“The RBI had announced a subvention scheme for opening new bank branches in the northeast. More and more credit to the agricultural and allied sectors must be increased in the region.”
According to the RBI chief, the credit deposit ratio of the region is half of the national average which is 70.
“The RBI has asked all the state governments to include finance in school curriculum to enhance fiscal literacy. It had developed material for this purpose which it would willingly share with the state governments,” Subbarao said.
About the dubious activities of unauthorised and unincorporated bodies and financial companies, the RBI governor has asked the people not to make any deposit to these institutions.
“People and media should be more vigilant about the unrecognised financial institutions.”
Subbarao said that RBI has decided to open its sub-offices in six more northeastern states - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya - in a phased manner to improve the banking services to the region and to ensure banking access is made available to all people.
Currently, RBI has a regional office in Assam’s main city of Guwahati.
- RBI to open more offices in northeast - May 05, 2011
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- Financial inclusion to get more focus: RBI governor - May 18, 2011
- No RBI approval needed for bank branches in northeast: minister - Dec 30, 2010
- RBI to set up more offices in northeast - Nov 06, 2010
- Banking services to all Indians by next year: RBI - Mar 26, 2011
- Sikkim to become a model banking state in Northeast - Feb 08, 2010
- RBI cautions investors against illegal finance companies - Jan 07, 2012
- Regulatory body sought to check illegal financial firms - Mar 10, 2011
- Tripura gets tougher law for illegal financial firms - Aug 18, 2011
- RBI wants banks to serve villages, says official - Sep 28, 2010
- RBI governor asks for more banks in rural Kashmir - Mar 21, 2012
- Micro finance will empower north-east, says Tripura minister - Sep 06, 2009
- India's central bank frees more money for credit - Mar 09, 2012
- Tripura to probe illegal financial firms - Mar 07, 2012
Tags: absorptive capacity, agartala, apex bank, bank branches, bank of india, credit counseling, credit counselling, credit flow, deputy governors, faster development, financial institutions, financial literacy, northeast india, northeastern states, rbi governor, reserve bank of india, school curriculum, state governments, subbarao, unincorporated bodies