Panel set up to beef up rural credit co-ops

The Reserve Bank of India, on Tuesday, constituted a committee to suggest ways to strengthen the rural co-operative credit structure.

The panel, headed by Nabard Chairman Prakash Bakshi, will review the existing short-term co-operative credit structure (STCCS), focussing on structural constraints in the rural credit delivery system. It will also explore ways to strengthen the rural co-operative credit architecture. The seven-member panel will make an in-depth analysis of the STCCS, and examine various alternatives with a view to reducing the cost of credit, the RBI said in a release.

It will also look at the feasibility of setting up of a two-tier STCCS as against the existing three-tier structure.

The STCCS targets the credit requirement of the small and marginal farmers in the country.

“The panel will submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting,” it said.

It will mainly assess the role played by State and district cooperative banks in fulfilling the requirement of agriculture credit.