Excelsior Correspondent
LEH, Jan 12: Advisor to Lt Governor of Ladakh, Umang Narula today emphasized bankers for extension of banking facilities to all the remote villages of Ladakh.
“The extension of banking facilities to all the remote villages of Ladakh should remain the top priority and the option of mobile van banking services with VSAT connectivity should be explored for places where internet connectivity is the major challenge and attempts of employing the BC model haven’t been successful,” the Advisor said to bankers while chairing the fourth meeting of the Union Territory Level Bankers’ Committee (UTLBC) of Ladakh for the June to September quarter of 2021 through virtual mode.
The Advisor also suggested exploring the option of involving Common Service Centres set up under every Gram Panchayat to boost financial inclusion in the UT. The UTLBC decided to constitute a committee of all the participating banks along with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and the Department of Agriculture to work on bankable projects in the agriculture/horticulture sector which remains the priority area for the Administration.
The Assistant General Manager/Convener UTLBC of UT Ladakh Tsering Morup gave a detailed presentation on the position of districts and banks regarding their Credit Deposit (CD) Ratio. The Advisor was informed that the total amount of deposits stood at Rs 6627.10 crore with a deposit growth of 21.53% on a year-on-year basis. The total credit amount was recorded at Rs 2759.40 crore with credit growth of 29.04% in UT Ladakh. The overall CD Ratio was thus calculated to be 42%.
The Advisor expressed concern over the low CD Ratio and emphasized the need for considerable effort to meet the 60% benchmark laid down by the Reserve Bank of India, especially by HDFC, AXIS, and YES banks, which have reported the lowest CD Ratio.
A detailed discussion was held on ways to expand and deepen the digital payment ecosystem. Additional Secretary Finance, D C Rajath Kumar suggested monthly monitoring of the QR codes distributed to the vendors for a comprehensive study of its use. Adding to it, Regional Director (J&K), RBI, R O Jammu, Kamal P Patnaik instructed the banks that all customers be provided with the option of a digital platform to make Leh district a 100% digitally enabled ecosystem by March 2022.
The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries; DCs (Leh and Kargil); Under Secretary, DFS, MoF, GoI (Nodal Officer for Ladakh UTLBC); Directors of concerned departments; Regional Director (J&K), RBI R O Jammu; GM, (FIDD), RBI, R O Jammu; CGM NABARD, R O, Jammu; DGM, SIDBI, Jammu, and representatives of the member banks and financial institutions.
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