AP CM meets State Level Bankers Committee

All cultivators, tenant farmers must get the loan amount they ask for, says AP CM to SLBC

SLBC must facilitate stark growth in the agriculture and MSME sectors of AP this year, says CM

The Chief Minister launched the State Credit Plan for 2017-18 in a meeting with the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC). The Total Credit Plan projected is ₹1,66,806 crore for the following year, which is 14.04% more than the previous year’s achievement. 

In a three-hour meeting this Friday, the Chief Minister overlooked the discussion, and was actively participating to ensure that decisions were being taken to further the growth of the economy of AP.

Since a large section of the agriculture sector is dependent on credit, enough economic activity and employment must be generated to ensure a better recovery percentage, he said. He emphasized on the importance of capacity building and skill development, which should be worked on alongside the credit plan.

He also insisted that the accountability of the beneficiaries must be monitored by a single system, and updated real-time on the web portal, Online Beneficiary Management & Monitoring System (OBMMS). He said this in response to SLBC’s request to address cases where an owner farmer already availed the crop loan, but a tenant farmer approached for finance with Loan Eligibility Cards (LECs) or Certificate of Cultivation (CoCs). It was agreed and approved that a single integrated system will help in weeding out false beneficiaries from interest subvention scheme and taking necessary action against land owners.

SS Rawat, Secretary, Social Welfare Department suggested that this system should also be integrated in such a way that the bank officials, the Agriculture Department, the Collectors and government officials all have a single platform or a database, to access details about the loans given and monitor the beneficiaries and track-records in real-time.

“The government and the bankers should work systematically and synergistically to ensure that, financing the agriculture and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sectors should complement all the other schemes of the AP government”, the Chief Minister said, in approval of Mr. Rawat’s suggestion.

Referring to the different recent schemes by the GoAP like free distribution of micro-nutrients, seeds, fertilizers, he said that the financing of the agriculture sector must be taken care of by the banks, addressing the State Level Bankers Committee.

The State Credit Plan proposed that ₹87,471 crore is projected for the Agriculture sector, which includes Short Term Production Credit finance to Tenant Farmers, Agricultural Term loans and allied activities, agriculture infrastructure among others.

The Chief Minister stressed on implementing a way to ensure that all cultivators must get the loan amount they ask for, and they must not borrow money at high interests. “They must apply by using geo-tagging and updation of their cultivation progress real-time, and funds must be released. The GoAP will facilitate the updation process, and the banks must find a way to provide for the loan amounts and issue CoCs.”

The Credit Plan also states that ₹25,000 crore is projected for the MSME sector, making it a total of ₹1,26,806 crore for the Priority sector and ₹40,000 crore for the Non-Priority sector.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the agriculture and the MSME sectors should witness breakthrough figures this year, and must be monitored regularly. A committee will be formed including bank officials and government representatives, and meet every ten days, starting from the June 28, 2017.

At the end of the meeting, the Chief Minister facilitated VVV Satyanarayana, the current Chief General Manager of NABARD, regional office of Andhra Pradesh, for his outstanding services.