FM Nirmala Sitharaman To Review Regional Rural Banks Performance

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is reportedly in talks to meet the head officials of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and review their performance soon, according to a media report on Thursday.

RRBs play a significant role in financial inclusion and serve the credit needs of the rural economy.

The report mentioned that Sitharaman would review the progress with regard to the issuance of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to farmers and allied sectors by RRBs.

The KCC loans were aimed to benefit the maximum number of farmers under a special saturation drive launched under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

The drive was to cover 2.5 crore farmers under KCC with a credit boost of Rs 2 lakh crore.

The Finance Minister is also expected to monitor the capital position of some of the weak RRBs, the report added.

Some other issues to be discussed in the meeting include technology upgradation of RRBs, strategies for NPA reduction, IT initiatives, improvement in financial inclusion, credit delivery enhancement in rural areas and sponsorship by banks to the RRBs.

The Regional Rural banks formed under the RRB Act, 1976 aimed to provide credit and other facilities to the smaller farmer class, agricultural labourers and artisans in remote areas.

Currently, the Centre has 50 per cent stake in RRBs, 35 per cent are with concerned sponsor banks and 15 per cent with the state governments, respectively.