The 89th State Level Bankers Committee meeting was organised on Saturday in the State capital. Finance Minister, Government of Jharkhand Radha Krishna Kishore was the chief guest for the occasion.
The program was inaugurated with the welcome of Chief Guest Finance Minister, Government of Jharkhand, Radha Krishna Kishore, Special Guest Agriculture Minister, Government of Jharkhand, Shilpi Neha Tirkey and Chairman of the meeting M Karthikeyan, Executive Director, Bank of India, Head Office. The meeting was formally started with the welcome address of Manoj Kumar, General Manager, State Level Bankers Committee – Bank of India, Regional General Manager Office, Ranchi.
In his statement, Kumar informed the gathering that the credit deposit ratio of Jharkhand has crossed the 50 per cent mark for the first time and it stood at 50.22% as on September 30, 2024 and that a constant increase is being witnessed in the credit deposit ratio of the State, which shows that the banks of the State are cooperating in the flow of credit. While this ratio was 45.04% on September 30, 2023, it has increased to 50.22% on September 30, 2024, which shows an increase of 11.50% year-on-year. Kumar also said that the State Government, Banks and Lead District Managers should popularise the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana in the State of Jharkhand.
Anjani Kumar Thakur, Director, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi and Nodal Officer SLBC Jharkhand, analysed the various works of State Level Bankers Committee, Jharkhand and directed the Convener Sub-Committee– SHG and RSETI to take necessary steps to hold the pending meeting of the Sub-Committee as soon as possible. Roshan Chaudhary, Senior Manager, State Level Bankers Committee-Jharkhand, highlighted the key topics through a power point presentation.
Agriculture Minister of Jharkhand Government, Shilpi Neha Tirkey, urged the banks to provide the benefits of effective schemes of the government to the deprived and poor beneficiaries of Jharkhand and also said that branches should be opened in remote places and areas far from financial inclusion and they should be connected to the mainstream.
In the third phase of the meeting, Chief General Manager, NABARD Regional Office, Jharkhand, Sunil Krishna Jahangirdar thanked all the banks for contributing to the development of the State and called upon the banks to cooperate in increasing the income of rural areas by establishing mutual relations with the concerned departments of the State for agricultural loans, especially animal husbandry and fisheries. Jahangirdar also highlighted the issue of encouraging FPO (Farmers Producers Organization) and Self Liability Group (JLG) from the banks in the state.
Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Ranchi Regional Office, Prem Ranjan Prasad Singh highlighted the importance of Lead Bank Scheme of Reserve Bank of India and highlighted the issue of meaningful discussion in the meeting of various banking committees at the district level. He also discussed the utility of Mahua and food items like them.
In his address, Prashant Kumar, Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Jharkhand informed the banks of the State about the availability of Guruji Credit Card and urged the bank heads to take the lead in various schemes of the State government and make efforts to complete the KCC loan waiver scheme without delay.
Executive Director, Bank of India, Head Office cum Chairman, State Level Bankers Committee, Jharkhand, M Karthikeyan greeted the state heads of all the banks, leading district managers and dignitaries present on the dais. He made all the members aware about the important role of banks in the economic development and financial inclusion of the country and praised the cooperation of the State government in the integrated development of the State of Jharkhand.
The Executive Director urged the banks of the State to provide maximum loan flow for agriculture and related activities such as goat rearing, pig rearing and fish farming among others. Karthikeyan also assured the members on behalf of all the banks that the milestone of 55% CD ratio will be achieved by all the banks by the end of March 2025.
Finance Minister, Govt. of Jharkhand, Radha Krishna Kishore thanked the member banks of SLBC, Jharkhand for their contribution to the economy of the State and advised the banks to work keeping in mind the interests of the rural population of the State. He also spoke about the importance of agriculture sector and asked all the banks to focus on financing farmers under KCC.
The program concluded with a vote of thanks by CH Gopala Krishna, Deputy General Manager, SLBC, Jharkhand.
The State of Jharkhand has registered a growth of Rs.29,048 crore in total deposits year on year and the State has also registered a growth of Rs.23,152 crore in total loans year on year. The State is continuously increasing the credit deposit ratio. Compared to last year, while the credit deposit ratio was 45.04%, this year it increased to 50.22%, that is, the increase was 11.50% year-on-year.
Agriculture Minister, Government of Jharkhand Shilpi Neha Tirkey, Executive Director, Bank of India, Head Office cum Chairman, State Level Bankers Committee, Jharkhand, M Karthikeyan Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Jharkhand, Prashant Kumar, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Ranchi Regional Office, Prem Ranjan Prasad Singh, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Regional Office, Jharkhand, Sunil Krishna Jahangirdar, General Manager, State Level Bankers Committee, Jharkhand, Manoj Kumar, Deputy General Manager, State Level Bankers Committee, Jharkhand, CH Gopala Krishna, senior officers of various departments of the State Government, state heads of all member banks, state representatives of industries associations and state lead district managers of all 24 districts were also present.