Jharkhand’s finance minister Radhakrishana Kishore on Thursday urged Banks to support the state in economic development. He said that central govt policies have led to a loss of Rs 22,000 crore to the state and urged all the banks to extend their support to ensure the state’s progress.
Speaking at the state-level bankers’ committee (SLBC) meet in Ranchi, he said, “The Goods and Services tax rationalisation caused revenue fall by Rs 4,000 crore. The change in share of centre from 90% in MNREGA to 60% in the modified VB-G-RAM-G (Grameen) scheme led to additional shortfall by Rs 4,000 crore. Now, the MMDR act would further incur loss of Rs 14,000 crore.” He added that the banks’ annual credit plan was around Rs 1,73,000 crore, which was larger than the annual state budget.
He said that apart from Centre and state govts, banks are a strong third pillar in economic development. State govt would also try to mobilise extra revenue to make up for the revenue losses. He also asked the banks to increase their coverage in the state. He mentioned that as per the plan around 1,217 more branches were to be opened in Jharkhand. He said that banks must focus on the erstwhile extremist-affected areas like Budha Pahar in Latehar and Chattarochatti in Bokaro so that local people get employment and join the mainstream.
There should also be transparency in expenditure of banks under their corporate social responsibility (CSR). He urged banks to spend CSR money on schemes like watershed in rural areas. Bank of India executive director and state chairman of SLBC, Rajiv Mishra, asked banks to improve customer service and also called upon the lead district managers to contribute to the state’s development by increasing credit flow in their respective districts.
SLBC stands for State Level Bankers’ Committee. It is an apex inter-institutional forum created in 1977 under the Lead Bank Scheme in India to ensure coordination and cooperation between commercial banks, cooperative banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), and state government authorities. It is entirely held at the state level. Each individual state in India has its own dedicated State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC).
