Srinagar Jun 21: Banking sector needs to provide appropriate credit support to appropriate sectors at appropriate rate of interest for the economic wellbeing of J&K. We need to extend optimum credit support to people associated with agriculture, handicrafts, MSMEs, tourism etc. and we need to improve the CD Ratio of J&K. The credit-linkage of self-help groups also needs a big push from all the Banks”
J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo made these remarks while chairing the 16th meeting of the UT-Level Bankers’ Committee (UTLBC) to review the performance of banks for the financial year 2024-25.
The meeting was attended by J&K Bank MD & Convenor J&K UTLBC Amitava Chatterjee, Principal Secretary (Finance Department) Santosh D Vaidya, Commissioner Secretary (Industries & Commerce) Vikramjit Singh, Regional Director (RBI) Chandra Shekhar Azad, GM (NABARD) Vikas Mittal, Executive Director J&K Bank Sudhir Gupta besides Secretaries to the Government, Heads of Departments, senior officials from the UT Government, RBI, NABARD, banking institutions, insurance companies, BSNL, and Lead District Managers.
As a special agenda item in the meeting, UTLBC (J&K) unanimously requested J&K Government to consider issuing a notification declaring incidents of Pahalgam Terror attack and Indo–Pak conflict thereon as Disturbances across UT of Jammu and Kashmir for invoking the Rehabilitation Plan for revival of affected businesses.
Referring to the DFS, GoI’s Three-month campaign for Saturation of Financial Inclusion schemes, Chief Secretary urged all stake holders to participate in the campaign wholeheartedly so that the benefits of the schemes (PMJDY, PMSBY, PMJJBY and APY) reach the uncovered population especially the poor sections of the society. He further directed banks to quantify outreach efforts and ensure meaningful evaluation of outcomes of the campaign.
Taking note of slow growth in Priority Sector Lending (PSL) with concern, he urged all banks operating in the UT to take concerted measures to meet the prescribed targets. Public Sector Banks were particularly advised to ensure tangible progress in priority sector lending, which he said is crucial for the socio-economic upliftment of the region.
Also, speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary, Finance Santosh D Vaidya said “Comparing with the earlier set of figures, there is an overall improvement on several fronts, but on CD Ratio, there is a slip-up of around 2 percent. And pulling back by 2 percent is going to be a challenge, which needs to be vigorously followed.”
He also advised the public sector banks to achieve 40 percent of their lending to priority sector in J&K geography and saturate the identified unbanked Gram Panchayats and Unbanked Rural centers (URCs) within next three months
Earlier, in his welcome address, Convenor UTLBC and MD & CEO J&K Bank, Amitava Chatterjee, expressed optimism over the banking sector’s role in meeting the developmental aspirations of the Union Territory.
“The banking sector plays a pivotal role in driving economic transformation, and we remain steadfast in our mission to strengthen financial empowerment, promote entrepreneurship, and enhance access to credit across all segments of society,” he said, assuring full cooperation from J&K Bank and other member banks in implementing employment and enterprise-focused initiatives.
On the occasion, General Manager (J&K UTLBC), Syed Rais Maqbool presented the progress report of banks for the review period, highlighting key performance indicators, including total credit disbursed, number of beneficiaries covered, and percentage achievement of the Annual Credit Plan (ACP) in financial and physical terms. Performance under key schemes like PMEGP, PMFME, HADP, KCC, SHG-Bank Linkage was also reviewed during the session.
The house was informed that banks in J&K have disbursed a credit of Rs.69,778 Crore to 18.44 lac beneficiaries during the financial year 2024-25.
The event concluded with a formal vote of thanks by General Manager J&K UTLBC Syed Rais Maqbool, wherein he appreciated the contribution of all stakeholders and emphasized prompt implementation of the committee’s resolutions to facilitate inclusive and sustainable economic development in Jammu & Kashmir.
