4.89 lakh new farmers financed this year by Andhra banks

Hyderabad, Mar 16 (UNI) Andhra Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) K Ramakrishnan today said the bank had exceeded its target by providing loans to 4,89,565 farmers, surpassing the target of 4.19 lakh.

Speaking at the state-level review meeting of Bankers' Committee, he said following Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's directive to public sector banks in Andhra Pradesh to ensure that each branch give loans to 100 new farmers in a year, for the first time, the Andhra Bank had provided loans to 36,506 tenant farmers through the ''Rythu Mithra Groups'' (farmers clubs) and 2.80 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) were financed Rs 1,622 crore against the target of covering three lakh groups.

The priority sector advances in the state by December stood at Rs 52,158 crore, constituting 66.15 per cent of total advances against the RBI norm of 40 per cent.

Agricultural advances were 31.17 per cent of net bank credit against the RBI norm of 18 per cent, the CMD said, adding that the disbursements under agriculture was Rs 14,492 crore upto February against the target of Rs 16,750 crore for the year. A total of 71.49 lakh Kisan cards were issued in the state, he added.

Noting that credit deposit ratio of 74.04 per cent against the RBI norm of 60 per cent was the highest in the country, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary T K Dewan, inaugurating the meet, urged bankers to concentrate on stepping up lending to the Horticulture sector as also to SHGs.

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