Tripura Industry Minister asks banks to lend more money

Agartala, Dec 9: The Tripura government has expressed displeasure over the performance of the nationalised banks operating in the state and asked them to lend more money in the service sector.

Talking to mediapersons here today, state Industry Minister Tapan Chakraborty said despite repeated requests to the nationalised banks, the Credit-Deposit ratio (CD ratio) had not improved, affecting the economy of the state as a whole.

''As many as 226 branches of the nationalised banks have given loans of Rs 1,077 crore against the deposit of Rs 3,408 crore so far this year,'' Mr Chakraborty said, adding that the latest figures indicated that the CD ratio stood at only 31 per cent, much lower than the national average.

He said the state government had amended the Loan Recovery Act following persuasions of the banks while the infrastructure development had received a boost in the state but the investment scenario was not yet improving due to ''negative attitude'' of the banks.

''Tripura is the only state in the country where the ministers and political leaders pursuade the people for loan recovery,'' Mr Chakraborty claimed, adding that the banks should be considerate and increase investment in the state.

UNI