Nirmala nudges banks to power Amaravati buildout
Amaravati: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has nudged India’s public sector banks and insurance companies to “move beyond conventional lending frameworks” and “take on an expanded developmental role” as Amaravati’s capital construction restarts.
The Finance Minister was speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the financial district’s first cluster of bank and insurance headquarters. Sitharaman and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday laid the foundation stone for new offices of 15 public sector banks and insurance companies here. The projects involving financial institutions such as SBI, LIC, NABARD and others will see a combined investment of Rs 1,328 crore with the potential to generate 6,541 jobs in the region. The Finance Minister said institutions anchoring themselves in the greenfield capital must recognise the scale of Andhra Pradesh’s economic ambitions and the sacrifices made by local farmers. “Amaravati, which started with scientific consultations, needs financial support and with that view the foundation stone for 15 financial institutions was laid,” Sitharaman told the gathering.
She described the gathering of all major PSU banks and insurance companies on one financial street as a ‘historic first' for any state capital in India. Thanking the heads of these financial institutions for turning up on a single day, the FM praised the Chief Minister's efforts in restarting the stalled capital project, likening it to Brahma Yagna' (a herculean task). She also highlighted the Prime Minister's support for the initiative. “Building a new capital with a detailed plan is not an ordinary thing…I am very confident that it will be very soon realised as a good robust capital for a very prosperous state of Andhra Pradesh,” she said.
The Minister said Amaravati’s 34,000 land-pooling farmers, who had ceded their landholdings for the capital project, cannot be treated as routine borrowers. Instead, banks should adopt a holistic financing model that supports the full agricultural and horticultural value chain, from crop planning and on-farm credit to logistics, cold chain, processing, and market linkages. Andhra Pradesh’s economy, she observed, has strengthened visibly, supported by a rapidly expanding middle class with rising nutritional demand.
Responding to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s pitch for a dedicated horticulture hub in Rayalaseema, the Finance Minister cited growing consumption patterns across India. She pointed to the recent rollout of dedicated banana and coconut freight trains from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to northern markets, calling them an example of how organised logistics is reshaping food supply. Such models, she said, could unlock fresh revenue streams for Rayalaseema’s nine horticulture-rich districts if banks are willing to finance infrastructure beyond the Kisan Credit Card framework. Nirmala Sitharaman called on banks to support horticulture farmers from nine Rayalaseema districts in Andhra Pradesh to market their produce, saying train loads of fruits are being dispatched to faraway places such as Delhi and Mumbai.
The Finance Minister also pressed insurers to widen coverage and deepen penetration, highlighting the LIC-run ‘Bima Sakhi’ programme as evidence that women-led agency networks can deliver strong results. She said Amaravati’s construction, resumed with strong central backing, requires long-term financial commitment from institutions that are now setting up headquarters in the capital’s planned financial corridor.
Nirmala Sitharaman called on banks to support horticulture farmers from nine Rayalaseema districts in Andhra Pradesh to market their produce, saying train loads of fruits are being dispatched to faraway places such as Delhi and Mumbai.
The Union Minister said the Centre is supporting Andhra Pradesh under the Purvodaya initiative, with the state committing nearly Rs 39,000 crore in projects relating to horticulture, irrigation, road development and regional infrastructure. The Union Government is accelerating technology-linked investments, including district-level centres for AI and Quantum Valley training, and signing collaborations in astrophysics, formalised through a new agreement between the state and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Sitharaman said Amaravati is positioned to evolve into a “futuristic capital” over the next 18 months and stressed that banks must ensure that not a single farmer who contributed to the capital project faces financial distress as development accelerates.