In order to ensure
improved financial services for the welfare of minorities,
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a Consolidated Master
Circular dated 05.07.2007 to all the Scheduled Commercial
Banks (SCBs) advising them to take care to see that
minority communities secure, in a fair and adequate
measure, the benefits flowing from various Government
sponsored special programmes. This Master circular also
envisages creating a separate cell in each bank to ensure
smooth flow of credit to minority communities and also
covers the role of the lead bank in the 121 districts
identified for purposes of' earmarking of targets and
location of development projects under the Prime Minister's
New 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities.
Minority communities have also been included in the
category of "Weaker Sections" for availing
credit within the Priority Sector advances.
In October 2007, Public Sector Banks
(PSBs) have been directed by the Government to ,step
up lending to minorities from the level of 9% of total
priority sector advances to 15% over the next three
years, i.e., upto the end of Financial Year 2009-10,
This information was given by
Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of State for Finance
in reply to a question raised by Shri D. Raja in the
Rajya Sabha today.
Source:
Press Information Bureau Date: March 04, 2008
