AP exceeds target in loans to new farmers

Hyderabad, Mar 16 (UNI) Andhra Bank Chairman and Managing Director K Ramakrishnan, the head of the lead bank in the state, today said banks had exceeded their target of providing loans to new farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking at the state-level review meeting of Bankers' Committee, Mr Ramakrishnan said following Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's directive to public sector banks in Andhra Pradesh to ensure each branch gave loans to 100 new farmers in a year, the banks advanced loans to over 4.89 lakh farmers, exceeding the target of 4.19 lakh farmers.

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

For the first time, 36,506 tenant farmers were financed through the ''Rythu Mithra Groups' (Farmers Clubs), Mr Ramakrishnan pointed out, adding 2.80 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) were financed Rs 1,622 crore as against the target of covering three lakh groups.

Agriculture advances constituted 31.17 per cent of net bank credit against the RBI norm of 18 per cent.The disbursements under agriculture stood at Rs 14,492 crore upto February against the target of Rs 16,750 crore for the whole year. A total of 71.49 lakh Kisan cards were issued in the state, he said.

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 urged bankers to concentrate on stepping up lending to the horticulture sector as also to SHGs.

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