Naidu tells bankers to expedite loan waiver

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed bankers to complete the second phase of loan waiver by February 23. At a review meeting with bankers on farm loans on Monday, the Chief Minister said bankers should identify genuine beneficiaries who deserve loan waiver and ensure that the benefit reaches them. He said bankers should take initiative to close loans worth Rs 50,000 or below under phase-I and asked them to expedite the process under phase-II.

Under the second phase, Naidu suggested appointment of a nodal officer from the Agriculture Department, who would coordinate with bankers and complete the process of loan waiver to the beneficiaries. The Chief Minister said the government came across instances where non-farm loans also were waived by bankers.

He directed the bankers to give clarity to farmers about the eligible and non-eligible persons for the loan waiver programme. The Chief Minister said that he went forward with the massive loan waiver programme despite several challenges. Chandrababu Naidu said Andhra Pradesh had excelled in implementing the Jan Dhan Yojana. Similarly, he advised the bankers to work with his government on educating people on improving their savings through a special campaign.

The Chief Minister said the government was focusing on improving investments and therefore, suggested to them to give loans to industries, infrastructure players and investors from other sectors. Suggesting that the bankers should use technology optimally, he said best services could be provided to citizens only when technology was used. He called upon the bankers to participate in the government’s skill upgradation and digital literacy programmes.

He said the government was using technology in e-Governance and bankers too should make use of technology for delivering services. IT Advisor J Satyanarayana, vice-chairman of State Planning Board Ch Kutumba Rao, Principal Secretary (IT & C) Sreedhar and others were present.