The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has set a target to form 1,400 Joint Liability Groups (JLG) in the district this year.
This was conveyed to the rural branch managers of commercial banks at a sensitisation programme on Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) here recently. The programme was organised by the NABARD, Karur, for propagating and promoting the concept of Joint Liability Groups among bankers to help the small and marginal farmers, landless workers and other farmers in getting bank loan support without collateral securities.
K.V. Narasimhan, Chief Regional Manager, Indian Overseas Bank, Regional Office, Tiruppur, said the JLG form of lending, which was accorded highest priority in the last Union Budget, would pave the way for reaching the unreached poor as per the latest thrust given by the government under the Financial Inclusion. The bankers should come forward to help the poor in accessing collateral free credit as per the norms of the Reserve Bank of India for enhancing their livelihood opportunities.
K. Chandrasekaran, former director, Indian Overseas Bank Rural Self-Employment Training Institute, in his special address, pointed out that the JLG mechanism of credit delivery could help the poor in freeing themselves from the clutches of private money lenders.
A. Parthiban, Assistant General Manager, NABARD said that a JLG could be formed by 4 to 10 people, who were from the same locality/village, same economic status and pursuing similar economic activities, for the purpose of availing collateral-free bank credit against an inter-se agreement, binding all the group members jointly and severally liable for the bank loan. A person with overdue or two people from a same family could not form such groups.
As animal husbandry was the major livelihood activity of the poor in Karur district, he suggested that this JLG mode of lending could be adopted by banks for financing rearing of milch animals, sheep, goat and so on which would help bankers in increasing their term loans for agriculture allied activities under the priority sector lending.
He appealed to the bankers in Karur district to come forward to form and credit link 1,400 JLGs this year for which necessary allocation would be made among various banks in the district by Lead Bank.
S.M. Murugesan, Lead District Manager, Karur, and M. Dhamayenthi, Director, IoB-RSETI, spoke.
