The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Dramatic growth for banking sector”

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Sunday, May 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Dramatic growth for banking sector”

Staff Reporter

Volume of business has risen: Chidambaram

“Banks have fulfilled their social commitment”
12 lakh no-frill accounts opened

KANDANUR (SIVAGANGA DISTRICT): The banking sector had gone through a phase of revolution during the last four-year rule of United Progressive Alliance Government, said Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

Speaking at a function at Kandanur, his native village, after inaugurating an automated teller machine (ATM) of Canara Bank and formally shifting its branch to a new building on Saturday, he said that almost all banks had witnessed dramatic growth. Their volume of total business had risen and the banks had not only achieved the targets on various parameters, but also fulfilled their social commitment.

Citing the manifold increase of loan to farming sector, he said it was just Rs.87,000 crore in 2003-04. It had risen to Rs.2,50,000 crore in 2007-08. “I had promised that farm loans would be doubled in three years. But it has tripled in the four years,” he said.

Mr. Chidambaram added that as against around 11 lakh self-help groups in 2003-04, banks had so far advanced loans to 30 lakh SHGs. Education loans to the tune of Rs. 19,771 crore had been disbursed to nearly 12.52 lakh students last year. “No country in the world has given education loans to students like we did. It is a tremendous achievement,” he said.

Loan waiver

Highlighting the massive loan waiver scheme, he said that it was not that the Government was paying the debt of farmers but it was the Government and the people paying their debts to farmers.

M.B. N. Rao, Chairman and Managing Director, Canara Bank, who presided over the function, said that fulfilling the Finance Ministry’s wish, the bank had advanced loans to 3.41 lakh new farmers. It had not only achieved its target, but gave loan more than the stipulated level.

He added that as per the financial inclusion plan, 12 lakh no-frill accounts were opened through its 1,639 branches in the country.

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