Fin Min Chidambaram urges Financial Institutions to boost economy

Bangalore, Nov 5 (UNI) Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today exhorted the financial instituions in the country to help fuel the economy growth faster to ensure that India became the third largest economy in the world.

Participating in the valedictory of the Platinum jubilee celebrations of the public sector Vijaya Bank here he said only 50 per cent of Gross Domestic Product were able to get the credit from the existing financial institutions and the banks in particular needed to boost the economy by providing succour to the poor and the needy people. ''India was destined to become the third largest economy in the world and I will not allow anyone to interfere in the growth process of the country especially in the financial sector,' he declared.

He said the banking system would contribute to the engine of growth and credit was the oil fo growth which would keep the engine of growth on. '' My concern is the growing Gross Domestic Product and the available human resources that is required,' he remarked.

He said the financial inclusion was the key factor that ensured justice to all sections of the society. '' We still have a long way to go in this regard,' he added.

Mr Chidambaram also had a word of praise for the Dakshina Kannada District in Karnataka which had become the fountainhead for the birth of four leading public sector banks today.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, in his address, stressed that institutional finance should be made avaialable to the people at large He quoted the effective implementation of Stree Shakti scheme and said it had empowered the women much more especially in rural areas.

Karnataka Lok Ayukta N Santhosh Hegde, delivering the M Sunder Ram Shetty memorial lecture on 'good governance and corruption', regretted that the society was not bold enough to expose the corrupt people. Power of transfer of officials with the politicians at the power made people more corrupt, he observed. He said institutions like the Lok Ayukta could not succeed in their attempt to root out the evil practice of corruption unless the people supported it.

Right to Information was the effective tool in that direction, he observed stressing the need to create awareness against evil practices of corruption keeping in view the younger generation.

UNI SR HVB2040