Mangaluru
Deputy Commissioner MP Mullai Muhilan expressed displeasure over the poor performance of banks, in achieving targets in the implementation of the PM SVANidhi scheme in the district.
The PM SVANidhi scheme is a micro-credit facility that provides street vendors with a collateral-free loan of Rs 10,000. Once the loan is repaid, they are eligible to receive Rs 20,000 for the second tranche of loans. In the third tranche, the street vendors may avail loan of Rs 50,000. The target for the district was 10,342 street vendors, but 4,281 are pending to be disposed of, the Deputy Commissioner said at the district level review committee meeting and District Consultative Committee meeting organised by Canara Bank.
District’s progress in PM SVANidhi is poor in the entire state. The scheme aims at providing access to institutional finance to the unorganised sector, the Deputy Commissioner said and took banks to task for not processing applications. Banks should not reject or return the applications without any valid reasons. The loan should be sanctioned to the existing bank account of the applicant and should not insist beneficiaries open a new account. Banks should appoint nodal officers for the implementation of the PM SVANidhi scheme, he said.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel directed the Lead Bank Manager to give a target to banks for PM SVANidhi.
We have plans to organise a mela to disperse loans to beneficiaries under Central Government-sponsored programmes like Mudra, PM SVANidhi and other schemes in the first week of October. The loan mela is expected to release credit to at least 25,000 beneficiaries, MP Kateel said.
Zilla Panchayat CEO K Anand urged bankers to improve the ratio of credit and deposits through outreach programmes at village and block levels.
