Uttarakhand Finance Minister Prakash Pant has asked the banks to raise the Credit Deposit (CD) ratio in the hill districts.

He was addressing the 67th State-level bankers committee meeting on Thursday. He told bank officials that they should hold awareness campaign among the masses of the people on the banking processes.

He said that National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is providing a financial assistance worth Rs 2,000 for every literacy camp.

Pant said efforts should be made to organise maximum number of such campaigns with the financial assistance  being provided by NABARD. These campaigns would help in increasing the CD ratio, he opined.

The Minister added efforts should be made under the financial literacy programme action plan in order to take the social security schemes to the common people across the State.

He said these schemes would help in dealing with the problem of unemployment and be instrumental in giving a boost to the economy of the State.

He said with the expansion of the local bodies, the new villages which have been added to the urban areas and the people living in these areas should be connected with the Government-run National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) for employment generation.

The Minister asked the bankers to sanction crop loan and term loan to the maximum number of beneficiaries so as to help meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of doubling the income of the farmers by 2022.

He instructed the bank officials to conduct various activities in the tourism sector and instructed them to work according to the work plan and road map prepared.

Pant also exhorted the bankers for active contribution to help effective implementation  of the Memoranda of Understandings signed during the Investors Summit.

The general manager, State Bank of India ( SBI), Ajit Singh Thakur, while thanking the officials present, assured the Finance Minister and  the finance secretary that the banks and the officers of the Government departments would coordinate as per the work plan and raise CD ratio.

The number of beneficiaries of  crop and term loan would also be increased, he assured.

Among others present included the chief general manager of State Bank of India Alok Kumar Chaudhary, State finance secretary Amit Singh Negi, chief general manager NABARD Avinash Chandra Srivastava, deputy general manager Reserve Bank of India Tarika Singh, deputy general manager of State Bank of India BL Saini, assistant general manager RK Pant and finance controller Kulanand Ghanshala.