Scale Up MSME Lending In Rural, Semi-Urban Areas: DFS Secretary Sanjay Lohiya At SIDBI Conclave
“The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will also be able to achieve their goal of diversifying their loan portfolios": Department of financial services (DFS) Secretary Sanjay Lohiya
NEW DELHI: Department of financial services (DFS) Secretary Sanjay Lohiya has emphasised the need to scale up lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in rural and semi-urban areas given the importance of the sector in the economy. “The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will also be able to achieve their goal of diversifying their loan portfolios by focusing on MSME lending, and rule engine-based underwriting is also expected to help them maintain good asset quality,” Lohiya said.
Speaking at a conclave organised by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) on Tuesday, the DFS secretary also said that the proposed arrangement synergises the strengths of SIDBI, which understands the credit needs of MSMEs, and RRBs, which have an excellent reach across the smaller towns and villages of the country.
“The conclave attended by chairmen of all 28 RRBs, SIDBI CMD Manoj Mittal and other senior officials focused on expanding the SIDBI-RRB MSME Co-Lending arrangement. During the conclave, the Secretary emphasised the importance of scaling up MSME lending in rural and semi-urban areas,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
DFS Additional Secretary Debasish Prusty, while addressing the conclave, indicated the importance of MSME cluster data for a focused approach to reaching out to a large number of MSMEs. “RRBs should contribute towards making the country a next-generation manufacturing hub and also take an active part in Rozgar Melas conducted by state governments to disseminate financial awareness among MSMEs,” he said.
Speaking at the event, SIDBI CMD also urged the RRBs to come forward and make the arrangement a success. “The co-lending Origination Platform developed by SIDBI is an end-to-end digital platform providing a faster and paperless credit journey, resulting in the quick sanction and disbursement of loans. Loan applicants will be informed of their in-principle sanctions within a very short turnaround time once all the details are provided through the application portal,” it said.
