₹52,337 cr farm credit, 19L zero balance accounts: Bhatti bats for outcome-based banking | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: With banks pumping more than ₹52,000 crore into Telangana’s farm sector and millions of Jan Dhan accounts still lying inactive, deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday said banks should go beyond sanctioning loans and evaluate whether the credit extended is translating into higher agricultural productivity and better incomes for farmers.Addressing the 50th State-Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting, Bhatti said banks in Telangana had extended agriculture credit worth ₹52,337 crore by June. Despite this, around 19.13 lakh Jan Dhan accounts continued to have zero balances, highlighting the need for a more outcome-oriented banking approach.Farmers, he said, should receive credit when they need it and should not be forced to make repeated visits to banks to secure loans. The deputy chief minister urged banks to proactively identify eligible beneficiaries and expand credit support beyond conventional farming to allied sectors such as dairy, fisheries, horticulture, oil palm cultivation and food processing.Bhatti also called for a more holistic approach towards farm lending and repayment. If a farmer is unable to repay a loan, banks should examine the reasons behind the decline in income instead of focusing solely on recovery, he said. Factors such as productivity, market access, post-harvest infrastructure and working capital requirements should form an integral part of the credit strategy.Turning to financial inclusion, Bhatti said the continued existence of 19.13 lakh zero-balance Jan Dhan accounts showed that opening accounts alone was not enough.Financial inclusion, he said, should not end with account creation. Banks must encourage account holders to actively use banking services, including savings products, insurance and credit facilities. On credit support for micro, small and medium enterprises, Bhatti said timely availability of finance was just as important as loan sanctions.He stressed the need for transparent and measurable timelines for processing loan applications, sanctioning proposals and disbursing funds, saying delays often undermine the very purpose of credit support.Looking ahead, Bhatti said banks and financial institutions would be central to Telangana’s economic ambitions of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and a $3 trillion economy by 2047.To support those goals, he proposed a ‘Telangana Rising 2047’ banking roadmap with clearly defined annual targets across key sectors. The proposed framework would focus on agriculture, MSMEs, startups, women entrepreneurs, rural industries, youth employment, green finance and digital financial inclusion.
Source link
