The Fact News Service
Chandigarh, November 29
Haryana Chief Secretary Dr. Vivek Joshi today called on bankers to launch a special campaign to reactivate inactive accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and to encourage nomination updates in depositor bank accounts.
Presiding over the 170th meeting of the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), Dr. Joshi highlighted the critical need to re-engage beneficiaries whose accounts have been inactive for a prolonged period.
He emphasized that activating these dormant accounts would enable account holders to fully utilize the benefits of the PMJDY and promote the overall objectives of financial inclusion.
Dr. Joshi also urged the banks to ensure widespread awareness among account holders about the importance of updating nominations in their accounts to secure their deposits and streamline the claims process in unforeseen circumstances.
The Chief Secretary stressed the role of banks in empowering economically weaker sections of society by facilitating access to government welfare schemes and financial services.
He called for collaborative efforts to strengthen Haryana’s financial ecosystem and maximize the impact of initiatives aimed at inclusive growth.He urged bankers to expedite the approval and disbursement of loans under the PM Suraj Kiran Yojana, a scheme aimed at providing free electricity to households by installing solar panels on their roofs.
He highlighted that in addition to the central government subsidy, the Haryana government is also providing additional subsidies to consumers. He emphasized that banks should swiftly clear loans under the PM Suraj Kiran Yojana as they have minimal risk in approving these loans.
While responding to the Regional Director of RBI, Vivek Srivastava, on enhancing the digital ecosystem in Haryana, Chief Secretary Dr. Joshi urged bankers to take proactive measures to raise awareness about the benefits and use of digital payment systems.
To promote and increase adoption of digital payments, Dr. Joshi suggested setting up dedicated counters in District Secretariats, Mini Secretariats, and SDM (Sub-Divisional Magistrate) offices across the state, where a large number of people visit daily.
He directed bankers to organize regular meetings in collaboration with district administration, with a particular focus on MSME institutions, to address and resolve the grievances of MSMEs. He also expressed satisfaction with the current CD ratio of 87 percent but urged bankers to set higher targets, in line with states that have achieved even higher CD ratios, to further enhance credit distribution and financial inclusion.
The Chief Secretary urged bankers to expedite loan approvals under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme, which supports artisans and craftspeople practicing traditional skills.
The scheme offers recognition through a PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, credit support of up to Rs. 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs. 2 lakh (second tranche) at a concessional 5% interest rate, along with skill upgradation, toolkit incentives, digital transaction incentives, and marketing support.Covering 18 traditional trades, the scheme aims to uplift artisans across rural and urban India.
While commending Haryana’s performance across various financial parameters discussed in the SLBC, Mr. Vivek Srivastava highlighted the need for improvement in credit flow to the agriculture and weaker sectors. He encouraged underperforming private sector banks to participate in various government schemes actively, noting that this would greatly support the SLBC’s efforts in achieving its targets and goals.
During a review meeting Mr. Kalyan Kumar, Executive Director of Punjab National Bank outlined the road map for achieving financial targets for the fiscal year 2024-25. He said that Haryana’s banking sector has recorded remarkable achievements for the period ending September 2024.
The banking sector reported a total deposit base of Rs. 7,72,496 crore and total advances of Rs. 6,72,887 crore as of September 2024. This represents a year-on-year growth of Rs. 82,663 crore (11.98%) in deposits and Rs. 99,626 crore (17.38%) in advances.
Additionally, priority sector advances saw an increase of Rs. 30,894 crore (13.27%), reflecting the banking institutions’ strengthened focus on key sectors such as agriculture and MSMEs.
The Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio also improved significantly, rising from 83% in September 2023 to 87% in September 2024. Banks have demonstrated impressive performance in achieving priority sector lending (PSL) targets for September 2024.
The overall achievement for the month reached a commendable 133%. This is particularly noteworthy in the Agriculture, MSME, and Other Priority Sector segments, which recorded achievements of 96%, 179%, and 43%, respectively.
During the meeting, Chief General Manager of NABARD Haryana, Nivedita Tiwary, outlined significant opportunities for agricultural and fisheries development in Haryana.
She emphasized the need to establish large-scale vegetable production clusters near major consumption centers while promoting Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) in these clusters.
The State Government has already initiated cluster development for vegetables, with NABARD supporting the formation of 124 FPOs, including 34 focused on vegetables.
These FPOs, she noted, require credit support to scale up their operations. NABARD’s subsidiary, NABSANRAKSHAN, provides collateral guarantees for FPOs to facilitate credit linkage.
She also highlighted the growing potential of shrimp farming in Haryana, particularly in saline soil districts like Hisar, Sirsa, and Rohtak.
Despite being a non-traditional fisheries state, Haryana has demonstrated the immense profitability of saline water shrimp farming, with an average harvest of 7 tons per hectare and a farm price of ₹300 per kilogram.
She urged bankers to support farmers seeking credit to expand shrimp production and noted that the Government of India’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) is available for developing infrastructure in the sector until 2026.
Additionally, Ms. Tiwary lauded Haryana’s advancements in digital agriculture through the “Mera Fasal Mera Byora” portal, which integrates land, farmer, and crop registries. However, she stressed the need to link the portal with the central Agristack database developed by the Government of India to maximize its potential and impact.
Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Anurag Rastogi, Secretary, Finance, C.G. Rajini Kaanthan, Director, Agriculture, Rajnarayan Kaushik, Director, Industries & Commerce, Yash Garg and other senior officers of the state government were also present in the meeting.
