AGARTALA, June 25 - Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has urged the banks to take the State�s credit deposit ratio (CDR) to the national average by enabling small entrepreneurs to start new ventures in the current difficult situation.
The Chief Minister, who was addressing bankers at the State Level Bankers� Committee (SLBC) meeting here, said the Narendra Modi Government has announced a Rs 21-lakh crore package to boost the country�s economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
�Tripura could get a benefit of up to Rs 4,800 crore from this package and the Government has already identified the sectors in which people could avail of the benefits,� he said.
�If the bankers ensure credit flow in the identified sectors, the CDR, which is now 57 per cent, could reach the national average. The banks must come forward with an open mind to cash in on the available opportunities,� he said.
Deb also urged the bankers to prepare plans for persons who were employed outside the State but had returned home after losing their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
�Professionals who became jobless and returned home must be given opportunities to exploit the expertise they had gained outside the State,� he said.
Noting that rubber is an important sector in the State, the Chief Minister said the bankers must give preference to the entrepreneurs who want to set up rubber-based industries.
Deb assured the bankers that the Government would take steps to ensure that business loans do not turn into non-performing assets (NPAs), which is a major problem for nationalised banks.
State Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar also appealed to the bankers to pave the way for successful implementation of the schemes announced by the Centre to tide over the current economic situation.
In the meeting, which was held at the conference hall of the Civil Secretariat on Wednesday, the bankers whose CDR is lower than the State average, were asked to enhance credit flow to the potential sectors for the benefit of the State.
Credit supply to MSMEs in the State has increased substantially over the past three years. The credit supply to MSMEs has gone up to Rs 2804.35 crore in financial year 2019-20 from Rs 1990.18 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 1600.54 crore in 2017-18.
