Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 17: Highlighting the significance of banking sector in inclusive growth, the Minister for Cooperative, Chering Dorjay today underscored the need for building a strong financial sector in J&K which can respond to the growing needs of the emerging economy.
Chairing the 123rd Board of Directors meeting of Jammu and Kashmir State Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (JKSCARDB) the Minister said the banks have a direct bearing on improving income levels of the people, reducing unemployment and alleviating poverty. He said although the credit support from banks to various sectors is increasing, but there is a vast scope for improvement.
“We are still lagging behind in the fixed benchmarks of credit-deposit (CD) ratio of agriculture sector. The banks must strike a balance between CD ratio and endeavor to equalize the national average,” he said.
The Minister of State for Cooperative, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Secretary Cooperative Baseer Ahmad Khan, Registrar Cooperative Societies, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Managing Director, J&K State Cooperative, Agriculture, Rural Development Bank (SCARDB), Mohammad Aslam Bhat and representatives of Finance, Planning and Development Departments, besides officers of SCARDB, participated in the meeting.
Several issues were discussed in the meeting to make the banking sector more vibrant and commercial. Assuring all possible support from the Government in building mutual trust between bankers and people for overall development of the State, Mr. Dorjay urged the banks to liberally provide credit in agriculture sector, the backbone of the State’s economy, which will contribute for development and prosperity of J&K.
“Expansion of dairy farming, poultry farming and sheep rearing are other sectors which have a prominent role in the State’s economy and need sustained development”, Mr. Dorjay said.
The Minister stressed on reduction of NPAs of the bank and improvement of credit deposit ratio to the desirable level which, he said, will increase profitability and overall financial complexion of the bank.
The Minister directed the concerned authorities that priority should be given to most backward and hilly districts of J&K like Leh, Kargil, Bandipora, Kishtwar, Reasi and Doda so that more business is attracted.
The Minister of State for Cooperative, Zahoor Ahmad Mir asked the management of the bank to adopt a strong and stubborn recovery mechanism so that the money lying with defaulted borrowers is recovered in a time bound manner.
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